4.1 Miles

Harrowing account of a small Greek island's coast guard as it contends daily with refugees fleeing oppression in the Middle East. A riveting documentary short. Apparently this was a student film that got nominated for the documentary short Oscar and that's a nice accomplishment for it.

Not a full review, more a reaction ... This documentary captures perfectly the desperation, the helplessness, the commitment and the surreal contrast between tourists enjoying their ouzo at the restaurant tables while volunteers performed CPR or wrapped people in survival blankets. I was on the quayside in Molyvos harbour during the scenes shown between around 16.20 and 18.30 (I even appear briefly!). If authenticity and capturing a mood are important, then this is a truly great documentary.

The waves of people fleeing terrorism in Syria, Afghanistan, etc, has made news in the past few years. Most of what people have heard of it has only been through reports. Daphne Matziaraki's "4.1 Miles" puts a human face on the story. The focus is a coast guard captain near a Greek island who has to rescue large numbers of the refugees. I suspect that the tough experience faced by the captain is nothing compared to the horror that the refugees experienced in their homelands. This is one gripping documentary.

The documentary has received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Short Subject. I haven't seen any of the other nominees, but I'd say that it would be justified to give "4.1 Miles" the award. This will probably be the closest that most people in the west will come to experiencing what the Syrians, Afghans, etc, have been through for the past few years. To think that we could've avoided all this by not invading Iraq or Afghanistan.