Mireia Pujol's Latest Film Peers Over Borders

Spending your days watching the best (and sometimes worst) of what’s out there in terms of short-form video content can mean much of it simply passes you by. However, some films stand out from the first few seconds. This short documentary, 'Diary Of Hunger' by director Mireia Pujol, which chronicles the last hurdle that African refugees and immigrants often face before entering Europe, catches your attention with its dramatically bleak aesthetic. Shot entirely in black & white using 16mm film, the piece depicts the extreme physical and psychological conditions of people living on the border in a manner that remains tasteful, dignified and powerful without relying on over-sentimentality.

In a time when many “first world” countries are in the middle of open public debate over the definition of who is eligible for asylum, where “economic refugees” often fall into the ineligible category, and where European election are turning increasingly to the right, having some light shed on the side of the story we rarely hear from makes this film all the more poignant and relevant. Mireia’s message seems to break it down quite clearly – desperate times call for desperate measures, and desperation is the main force driving people to make such treacherous journeys.

We were so intrigued by this short we decided to catch up with Mireia and find out what drew her to the topic and if she had any off-camera experiences or insights for sharing.

This is such a hard-hitting, powerful documentary. How did you come across it as a subject?

Almost a year ago we got in contact with Hector Ayuso, the director of OFFF Festival, and a few weeks later he asked us to make a short film for the first edition of an online magazine called The Poool. My Executive Producer Rafa Montilla and I said “Why not?” As OFFF was talking about the future we discussed the idea of people who have no future – people from countries in Africa who have been trying to get to Spain or Italy, many of whom die.

We talked about filming in Melilla and about the barrier, which is a place made by the devil.

As a documentary maker are you generally drawn to subject matter that challenges your audience?

To be honest I don’t consider myself a documentary maker. I’ve always been very interested in documentaries but my background comes from fiction and advertising. That’s why it was a big challenge for me.

“Diary of Hunger” is a film that came from the heart and from the necessity to know the truth. I wanted to see with my eyes what the hell was going on behind all this information that comes to us through the media. My idea was to make people think about the suffering of others, considering our terrible tendency to individualization.

At the beginning we see aerial footage of people moving in a long line. Could you explain what’s happening here? Is it as gruesome/morbid as it appears to be?

When I started to work deeply with the idea, I saw very shocking images in an online magazine, so I called them and they told me that they got them from the Spanish police.

What you see in these images are thousands of people walking across Morocco to reach the border. They come walking from Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali... from all African countries. They spend years trying to reach the Spanish border. They normally walk during the night, without any light, to avoid being hunted. The Spanish police helicopters monitor the Moroccan territory (is that legal?).

When they hear the propellers of the helicopter they stretch on the floor, they don’t know that the police cameras detect the heat of their bodies. These images anticipate what is going to happen to them.

Before setting out, what did you have in mind to capture? Did you already have an idea of what you were looking for or was it a process of discovery?

I knew I wanted to represent the truth as objectively as possible. I was very inspired by “Cinéma-verité”, a documentary style of filmmaking that was very popular in France during the 50’s. I wanted to face the subject in an anthropological way without using the usual narrative formulas that we see in films. I really tried not to put subjectivity in the film. The idea was to combine improvisation with the use of the camera to unveil truth or highlight subjects hidden behind crude reality.

What I didn’t expect is to see what I saw - to see the jump on the second day when I arrive in Melilla; to meet the boy who asked to call his mother. I didn’t expect what I saw there, the experience beat me in many ways…

What was your impression when you were in the camps? Did you spend any time staying there yourself?

Inside the camps is sadness and misery, it’s difficult to explain it with words. You can feel a strange silence, very tense. You can feel that they are frightened. The majority of them are kids under 18, there are thousands of people… It’s very difficult to express. As I told you I’m not a documentary maker so I’m not familiar with these kinds of issues, it was the first time for me. You really have to be there. It was very difficult for me to shoot - I felt bad to be with a camera and I also felt the necessity to help them.

How large was your crew?

We were six people: Producer, Director, DoP, Camera Assistant, Sound and a journalist (specialized in this issue) that helped us on the ground.

Did you encounter many problems, either with the technicalities of filming or with the authorities?

The main issue was to pass the camera and ourselves into Morocco and to not get stopped by the police because shooting film is not allowed in Morocco.

You mentioned before the boy in tears on the phone to his mother. Could you tell us more about him?

He was a boy that had jumped the fence only a few hours ago. He was 15 year old. He asked if we could lend him our cell phone, it was the first time that he had spoken with his mum in the past two years, imagine? He was happy to be in Spain but so sad at the same time. He was speaking in Djola, so it was impossible to understand what he was saying. I was just crying to see him like that and I didn’t understand a word. The big surprise was when we came back to Barcelona for the editing and I received the translation… I remember when he said ”Mum, I will never forget you”. At that point I realized that he knew he could never see his mother again.

At what point did you feel you had all the footage you needed?

As you can see I was shooting in film, 16mm. It was very important to be aware of the footage as it’s really expensive. The thing is that I knew I didn’t want to repeat any take, I mean I shot what I saw but I never repeated anything. I shot everything chronologically and I didn’t change anything in the editing room.

This means that when they passed the fence, after I had the interview with them, I knew that everything was over - What else could I shoot? They were in Spain and I knew that was the end.

Have you managed to keep in contact with any of the refugees you encountered?

Yes, we are still in contact with some of them but it’s quite difficult as they change cell numbers. We know that some of them are in Africa again which is very sad, they were returned by the police, others are again in Monte Gurugú (Morocco) waiting for another opportunity to jump.

This documentary focuses on African refugees trying to enter Europe. How universal is the message you’re trying to get across though? Can it be read on a more global scale?

Yes, of course. As you can read in the front page of the film “where there is hunger in one part of the world, people go where there is none. That’s the way it always been and always will be”. We should read it in a global scale, it happens around the world.

What next? Do you have any exciting future projects coming up?

I’m preparing a new documentary in Peru about girls that have been raped and forced to become mothers. So, so hard.

I’m also writing a feature film but for fiction.

As you can see I’m always looking for stories!...