Blogpost by Anna Skenderoglou The decision to stay – or to be allowed to leave. About a place, but also about a love

“Get out of your comfort zone” – this phrase has been plastered on the walls of my generation since the pandemic began. And I, too, have followed it: two years ago, I left Germany to live abroad. 

It was a decision I made entirely on my own. I chose the place, was able to prepare myself and could return at any time if I felt like it. This simple sentence – ‘I want to be somewhere else right now’ – is a luxury that I didn't recognise as such for far too long. It's only during those small, annoying moments abroad, when I long for home, that I realise: I can just go back. For a few weeks or months. I can move between places. I am free. 

This freedom cannot be taken for granted. And it only becomes painfully clear when you see who is denied it. Then the mental merry-go-round starts spinning through all the ways in which freedom can be taken away, and how deeply those effects are felt. 

Filmmaker Sejad Ademaj uses film as a medium to shine a light on this reality. Three of his films pull audiences out of their comfort zone and into a deeply uncomfortable examination of widespread injustices and social roles. 

About three short films that make you think.