SO CLOSE TO SILENCE

SO CLOSE TO SILENCE 

Arlindo Horta | Portugal 2013 | 72 Min. | OmeU

So close to silence draws the space between memory and social oblivion. During the extensive bureaucratic process, the performance of memory is a mandatory resource for those who apply for asylum. But what is the place memory, at times traumatic, inhabits in the refugee’s present? Which are the words he is willing to stage in front of an audience or to the camera?

So close to silence follows the routine of an amateur theatre group made up by refugees and asylum seekers in Portugal. Asif, Diaby, Omid and Yana speak about the experiences that marked their escape and share some of their memories on stage and on camera.