Flee Parent Guide

In 2021, over 82 million people were living as refugees, forced from their homes by war, persecution, famine, climate change, natural disasters, or economic deprivation. The sheer numbers are so overwhelming that it can often be difficult to see refugees as people with lives, dreams, and potential for contributions. By focusing on a single refugee, Flee helps to personalize the crisis.

Flee is the story of Amin Mawabi. Growing up in Afghanistan in the early eighties, Amin lives through tumultuous regime changes and civil wars, sees his father abducted by the police and hs brother nearly conscripted by government troops. The only way his family can enjoy a secure future is to flee the country before things get worse…but finding a new home as a refugee isn’t easy.

This is an unusual documentary in that it is almost entirely animated. Some scenes are pulled from contemporary news footage, but anything involving Amin and his immediate experiences is carefully drawn. The animation is simple, only a few frames per second and heavily stylized, but the simplicity focuses attention on the story and the characters. I think it also makes the film more suitable for a younger audience: While it is still going to be a dark and emotionally difficult film, the stylized quality adds a little distance from the brutal realities of the story.

And it is a brutal story. Amin has experiences which, individually, would be incredibly difficult to overcome – and they just keep coming. Growing up gay in the Middle East, in a warzone, fleeing repeatedly across Europe, being separated from family – things just keep getting worse. It’s an incredible story and well told, and one that is increasingly relevant as refugee populations continue to grow under political and environmental pressures. The world is, put mildly, a catastrophe, and the tragedy of refugee populations is one which is only going to become more urgent. Hopefully, due to its lack of explicit content or profanity, this movie can find a place as a teaching tool in educating older kids and teenagers on the importance of taking in displaced populations. The violence is not gratuitous and Amin’s homosexuality, while part of his life, receives no explicit screen time.

I wouldn’t say this is an easy watch, but it’s incredibly compelling and emotional. More importantly, Amin’s story is a window to an ongoing crisis that those of us in more peaceful nations have a tendency to overlook and ignore. Hopefully, telling that story will help motivate positive action from governments and populations which struggle to understand the scope of the crisis – but, failing that, it should provide viewers with a better understanding of the circumstances which refugees are forced into. If this doesn’t generate some compassion, then I don’t know what will.