Synopsis
Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, a small Tel Aviv based NGO, works around the clock. The activists, most of them women, look after the rights of people without papers, give them legal advice, deal with government bureaucracy and promote public campaigns for their cause. The camera catapults us right into the midst of action. The organization has to fight both the rising xenophobic public mood and the legislation, which treats any illegal border crossing as criminal offense.
A word from Tënk
In 1951 Israel officially signed the refugee convention which at its core principle asserts the safety and protection of a refugee. It states that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. In present day Israel, these treaties are not upheld. Refugees are deported and are not granted basic human rights such as health insurance and the legal right to work. Hotline is a harrowing account showing us the bureaucracy of what their fight looks like. The film leads us to witness the everyday exchange and uphill battle of refugees from Eritrea, Guinea, Sudan and others who have crossed the Egyptian desert into Israel and have been detained and face deportation. The camera is sincere and the editing of scenes allows us to deeply witness the deliberations of government officials. The director is allowed to witness the small contribution of an NGO which serves as a hotline to refugees, and tries to do the little they can to make their battle bearable. There is no masking, no makeup. It is real and it is painful. Anyone watching this film, will not leave indifferent to the cruelty behind bureaucracy and justice of Western governments, in particular a government of a people with such a history as the State of Israel. As a former Israeli, I allow myself to say so.
Danae Elon
Filmmaker
