VOL SPECIAL
Switzerland 2011 – Director: Fernand Melgar – Original language: French – Subtitles: English – Length: 100 min.
“You have a choice,” says the governor to a detainee. “If you don’t want to go on a regular flight, it will be a ‘special flight’.” Frambois is Geneva’s detention centre and this is where Sans-papiers and failed asylum seekers wait for their flights. There is no alternative; a ‘special flight’ means that they leave the country handcuffed and gagged. Meanwhile everyday life in the detention centre goes on. The camera captures quiet, respectful and strong observational images of the insufferable and the gruelling – for the inmates as well as for their wardens. LA FORTERESSE (2008), Melgar’s previous film, was set in a reception centre for asylum seekers. What follows here is what many have experienced over the decades in this land – the end of all hope for a better, more secure life in Switzerland. Silvia Bauer
English/Original Title: Special Flight. Camera: Denis Jutzeler. Sound: Christophe Giovannoni, Jürg Lempen. Editing: Karine Sudan. Music: Wandifa Njie. Production: Climage. Producer: Fernand Melgar, Stephane Goel. Co-Producers: Co-Produktion: RADIO TÉLÉVISION SUISSE, UNITÉ DES FILMS DOCUMENTAIRES IRÈNE CHALLAND, GASPARD LAMUNIÈRE SRG SSR ALBERTO CHOLLET, URS FITZE ARTE G.E.I.E. UNITÉ DOCUMENTAIRE, ANNIE BATAILLARD, CHRISTIAN COOLS.
