DAFA METTI (DIFFICULT)
"Africans here in Europe, our lives are worth nothing."
Dafa Metti is a short documentary about illegal, undocumented Senegalese immigrants in Paris. They sell miniature souvenirs at the base of the Eiffel Tower to support their family members at home. They also work to evade the immigration police.
The narrator describes situations where vendors run from the police. Some die when they jump into the River Seine. The vendors discuss not seeing their families and living in cramped conditions. The documentary also describes how one man jumped from a moving train and dies. The authorities cremate his body after finding him without any ID.
The distance prevents vendors from seeing families for years, and they lose contact with those left at home. Families miss each other and are torn apart by the distance. Many die on the way to Paris or while living in the city.
This short film won awards that include recognition from the BFI film festival, BIFA, Cinema Eye Honors 2021, Telluride Mountainfilm 2020, Woodstock Film Festival 2020, and many others. It documents real accounts from Eiffel Tower souvenir vendors and exposes cases involving violence and death and being hounded by the police. One person says he didn’t see family for ten years and wanted to return to Senegal to visit. Another man never met his daughter, who was born after he arrived in Paris. It outlines the poverty and loneliness that come from economic necessity.
This 14-minute project by Tal Amiran is an eye-opener for anyone interested in what immigrants do to survive.
