POV’s ‘Neuland,’ a Poignant Look at Young Migrants Trying to Make a New Life In Switzerland, Premieres Aug. 17, 2015 on PBS
Far from Home, Young Migrants Learn to Find Their Place in the World with the Help of a Trusted Teacher
Students Hamidullah and Ehsanullah in Neuland. Credit: Gabriela Betschart.
Meet the young students in Mr. Zingg’s integration class, who came to Switzerland by planes, trains and automobiles—and even by rubber boats. Separated from their families and in many cases traumatized by events in their home countries, these migrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Serbia and Venezuela already have long and arduous journeys behind them. Neuland (“New Territory”) follows the adolescents over two years as they struggle to learn a new language, prepare themselves for employment and reveal their innermost hopes and dreams. But as the end of school draws near, each student must face the same difficult question: Is there a place for me in this country?
Anna Thommen’s Neuland has its national broadcast premiere on Monday, Aug. 17, 2015 at 10 p.m. (check local listings) during the 28th season of the PBS series POV (Point of View). POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series and the recipient of a 2013 MacArthur Foundation Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Neuland will stream online from Aug. 18 to Sept. 16, 2015. Watch the trailer here.
As part of an effort to preserve its national identity, Switzerland—a country with four official languages and a large number of foreign residents—established a policy of integrating asylum seekers by teaching shared values and tolerance. Those receiving government support are required to take language courses and enroll in job training and professional development. While the country encourages foreigners to find their places, Switzerland also wants these new residents to fit into the existing culture and to succeed as good citizens and workers.
The students in Mr. Zingg’s class are all escaping something—war, family problems, poverty. There is Ehsanullah Habibi, who has finally made it from Afghanistan to Switzerland after traveling for a year on borrowed money—a staggering $20,000. His anxious family waits back home for him to send the loan payments—or the lender will take their property. Brother and sister Ismail and Nazlije Aliji left their home country of Serbia after their mother died. Smart, eager and dedicated, Nazlije longs to be a primary school teacher, but she realizes her dream may be out of reach when she hears how many years of education that would require.
“I was impressed by the trust the pupils placed in their teacher,” said Thommen. “When Mr. Zingg told me some of the unbelievable stories about the fates of his pupils, I knew I wanted to make a film about this. We decided to accompany him and his next class over the two years from the beginning through the end of their schooling. I genuinely hope that it will touch the viewers and sensitize them to the fates of these young migrants and others like them who are stranded on our shores every day.”
About Anna Thommen, Writer/Director:
Anna Thommen was born in Basel, Switzerland, in 1980. After working for two years as a primary school teacher, she decided to study film at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in 2005. Her graduation film, Second Me, won numerous awards and was shown at more than 20 festivals around the world. Thommen received her master’s degree in film directing in 2013 from the Zurich University of the Arts. Neuland was her graduation film, and it has won a dozen international film prizes, including Best German Language Documentary at the 2013 Zurich Film Festival and the First Steps Award at the 2013 Berlinale and continues to be shown around the world.
Read the full press release here.
KJ