Floating Islands

Directed by

Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat

Millions of people abandon their countries each year in search of a better life, from Africa to Europe, the Caribbean to the United States, North to South Korea. In transit their status and human rights become negligible as they become illegal immigrants. What motivates them is usually universal; poverty, war, fear. They travel by foot, hide inside cars, are shipped in trucks and buses, and many travel by boat. In our globalised world the boundaries are open for trade but closed for immigration, their numbers are reported aligned with political motivations, the complexity of the individual story and its outcome, whether dead or alive, is skimmed over as the next news piece is ranked precedence. Based on quotes and testimonials, this hand drawn animation focuses on what happens while floating in the no man's land of open waters.