Human Flow

On 8th May the Geography Department was invited to attend a screening of Ai Weiwei’s new film “Human Flow” at Bedales. Seven Lower Sixth students and three staff attended.

The two and a quarter hour film combines an overview of the massive extent of contemporary global migrations, while managing to focus in on the humanity of those involved. It crossed the globe from the world’s largest refugee camp of 0.5 million at Dadaab, Somalia to the 10000 residents of the Calais Jungle; explored the legacy of displaced people from the various conflicts in Afghanistan and the contrasting responses of EU countries to the Mediterranean migration, the largest exodus since World War Two.

The scale of the migratory flows was powerfully illustrated through a combination of aerial drone footage and selected sub-titled statistics, while the individual stories of the migrants were told through the use of hand-held cameras and short interviews. 

The film poses questions about our response to the existing crises and our ability, and appetite, to respond to the significant growth in forced migration widely forecast to follow future population growth and climate change.

David Nighy