“Wake up on Mars” is one weird documentary.
A Muslim family flees persecution in Kosovo and seeks refugee status in Sweden but they are deported back to Kosovo yet again they flee to Sweden where finally they obtain their residency permits.
However both teenage daughters are in a vegetative state apparently with “resignation syndrome” which is a new condition that can affect asylum-seeking children often following a threat of deportation. Now if these teenage girls have this horrid resignation syndrome what an awful condition and both of them? The thought may occur to you that this affliction is a scam to stay in the land of milk and honey. I really am unable to come to a decision on this. I am not cruel but desperate people can often do desperate things particularly if a return to their homeland means more traumatic harassment. We are not told if the teenage girls recover when they are legally admitted to Sweden.
As for the name of this film young Furkhan, brother of the afflicted sisters, has built a spaceship from pieces of cars in a junk yard he dreams of taking to Mars. In other words escape the sad state of his sisters.
The film is 75 minutes long and is in Albanian and Swedish with English subtitles.
You can watch this for free but you’ll have to reserve tickets through the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema website. The Festival runs from February 18-22. You can learn more by going to the festival’s website https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/01/14/18th-annual-toronto-human-rights-watch-film-festival#
I guarantee you will be intrigued by it. Watch the trailer here https://www.dropbox.com/s/5zvv58nnz7e8aju/WakeUpOnMars_TRLR_Texted_ProRes_25_2ch.mov?dl=0
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 