Porta d'Europa

(THIS FILM WAS PART OF OUR 2024 FESTIVAL LINEUP AND IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE ON THE SLAMDANCE CHANNEL) For over 30 hours, a migrant boat with fifteen people onboard has been stranded off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy. Emergency calls made to European coastal authorities have been ignored. The Sea-Watch, an NGO fighting for the lives of refugees, deploys an aircraft in a race against time. As they pinpoint the boat’s location and send out distress calls, an unknown vessel appears on the horizon. “Porta d’Europa” immerses the audience in a firsthand account of the migrant crisis on the Mediterranean Sea. As events unfold, the crew has no choice but to witness the harrowing failure of European human rights policy and the gamble of human lives.