Inhabiting the World

"There is a kind of rather bizarre paradox where everything is moving today (goods, capital, people) and at the same time there is another part of humanity who are in a position of reduced mobility." Hamedine Kane in Point Culture, 2019.

In the film Inhabiting the World, Hamedine Kane literally walks the path of migrants in search of a safe place. Starting from old and contemporary stories about walking – from pilgrimages to diaspora – Kane interweaves personal testimonies with powerful, muted images. In an airport lounge, a man talks about his dream of reaching Belgium. This is followed by footage of the Petit-Château or Little Castle in Brussels, the gateway for people seeking asylum in Belgium. The film sheds light on the vulnerable state of in-between spaces where movement falters, the future remains uncertain and survival is a matter of negotiation.

Using sparse dialogue, silent sequences and a poignant soundtrack, Kane shows palpable despair and loss, but also resilience, connectedness and the ability to rebuild. Instead of presenting migration as a direct route to safety, he shows it as a cyclical experience. At the same time, he raises urgent political questions about so-called "mass migration" and the lack of safe migration routes. Inhabiting the World is his response to the 2015 reception crisis, when Belgium forced refugees to live on the streets. It brings home the message that migration is almost never a straight line.