DESCRIPTION
A dark and mythological fable about a transgender person’s life in the urban underground where she has to constantly change shape to survive.
A portrait of European boundaries: While food and goods are able to travel across all frontiers, there are severe restrictions for human beings. Pepsi plays, in this documentary, the role of a 21st Century transgender version of Joan d’Arc, putting her journey on a different scale, even beyond survival: standing for human rights, request and asylum of the most marginalized communities. She escaped the Muslim military camp she grew up in because of her homosexuality, worked as a nurse for over 10 years in Gaddafi’s Libya. Because of gender discrimination, she was forced to join the flow of refugees and has now stranded in Paris. Passing through an Undefined International Landscape she finds the strength to tell her intimate story which recalls the ancient myth of Europa. According to the myth, Jupiter seduced a young woman Europa and sent her to an island in the Mediterranean. Shelter – Farewell to Eden is a triple leave from childhood, virginity and former colonial identity.
‘Shelter’ is a postcolonial fable, which – much like its anonymous protagonist – constantly changes shape between identities. 16mm film, analogue video and iPhone footage contribute to a phantom image of life in the urban underground.
GALLERY
REVIEWS
“An Italian surprise at spring film festivals”
“The LGBTQ documentaries you need to see this year. It’s an extraordinary story that’s beautifully shot.”
– HuckMag, Thomas Curry
“A stirring documentary, Shelter: Farewell to Eden, relays the constant fears of harm and persecution many gay and trans individuals face in some of the most turbulent places in the world.”
“The final chapter of a trilogy dedicated to resistance and resilience!”