On Monday, the 17th of April at 5:30pm we will be screening On the Bride’s side in CUBE Z222. It is the fourth movie night of the Law and Politics Film Series that we are hosting in cooperation with our dear lecturer Michiel Bot. This time, Chiara Raucea (assistant professor at the department of Public Law & Governance) will introduce the film and lead a short discussion afterwards. Don’t forget to bring snacks!

About the story

On the Bride’s side reports the journey of a small group of Syrian refugees who arrived in Italy through the Mediterranean route. They want to apply for asylum in Sweden but, due to the Dublin system, they could not and cannot travel through Europe legally. The director and a group of other Italians (including a Palestinian refugee who just gets Italian citizenship at the start of the trip) decided to fake a wedding cortège to travel all together to Sweden, crossing: France, Luxembourg, Germany, and Denmark. If police stop the group along the journey, the risk for the Syrian refugees is that they are sent back to Italy. For Italians coordinating the travel, the risk is a criminal trial for smuggling.

About the discussion

The movie has a rather journalistic style (one of the directors is indeed an Italian journalist, Gabriele del Grande). Furthermore, the story is still very relevant and it will be interesting to discuss the strict EU rules on migration and asylum and their effects on the lives of people on the move, as well as solidarity and acts of (political) disobedience.

Details

The movie lasts about 1h40, it has English subtitles, the original languages are Italian and Arabic. It is an independent production and was shot in October 2013 on a 4 days road trip from Milan to Malmo.

Find the trailer here!