ABOUT THE FILM

LONG SYNOPSIS

In 2015, after Hassan Fazili’s documentary Peace aired on Afghan national television, the Taliban assassinated the film’s main subject and put a price on Hassan’s head. Hassan looked at his wife and his daughters, and he knew they had to flee their home. Over the course of their multi-year saga in search of safety, the family grasped onto the only means they had to assert control over their situation: their camera-phones.

Hassan and his wife Fatima are both filmmakers, and they are educating their daughters and encouraging them to be artists. The whole family shot this autobiographical film, which follows them from when they sought and were rejected for refugee protection through their journey along the notorious Balkan smuggling route. As they experienced increasingly degrading circumstances, the family latched on to filmmaking as a way to not just survive, but retain their humanity.

MIDNIGHT TRAVELER is a gripping vérité story made by a family on the run. Their unique access and artistic vision provide an intimate portrait of a loving family and the myriad fellow travelers they meet on their odyssey.

Director Hassan Fazili

Writer Emelie Mahdavian

Producers Emelie Mahdavian, Su Kim

Co-Producers Fatima Hussaini, Ahmad Imami

Editor Emelie Mahdavian
co-editor Kristina Motwani
consulting editor Nels Bangerter

Cinematographers Hassan Fazili, Fatima Hussaini, Nargis Fazili, Zahra Fazili

Music Grethen Jude

Cast Nargis Fazili, Zahra Fazili, Fatima Hussaini, Hassan Fazili

FESTIVALS
2019: Sundance (World Premiere)

AWARDS
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for No Borders (Sundance), Special Mention, Panorama Jury Prize (Berlinale), Second Place, Panorama Audience Award (Berlinale), Special Mention, Peace Prize (Berlinale), Best International Feature (Doc Edge New Zealand), Best of Fest (Doc Edge New Zealand)

AVAILABLE TERRITORIES
North America

EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, Blu-Ray