The roots of madness. Title of the new documentary film by Swiss director Edgar Hagen (Who are we?, Journey to the safest place on Earth) provocative. Its goal is ambitious. After all, in the midst of the heated political debate over immigration and growing xenophobia across Europe and other parts of the world over the past decade, the film seeks to answer the question: Why do so many people become refugees?
For his cinematic exploration, Hagen attempts to understand “the long-term consequences of Western intervention in the Middle East,” as the film’s synopsis highlights. In his investigation, the director accompanies veteran German journalist Ulrich Tilgner, who has covered war zones and crisis hotspots for German and Swiss broadcasters, on a farewell journey to meet not only ordinary people along the way but also to meet former contacts, old friends and previous interview subjects in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria to find out how things have gone since his previous visits.
The roots of madness It has its world premiere at the national competition of the 57th Swiss documentary festival Visions du Réel in Nyon, near Geneva, on Sunday 19 April.
“In 2015, millions of refugees, mostly from the Middle East, poured into Europe, inadvertently fueling the rise of xenophobic extremism,” notes a synopsis on the VdR website that notes how the film combines “archives and often harrowing testimony to create a stark yet sensitive indictment that occupies the space between anger and grief.”
In this process, The roots of madness He explains the promises of Western interventions in the region in the name of “liberation” and “democracy.” The documentary also takes viewers to Niger, Greece and Serbia.
Watch a trailer for the film here.
Produced by Hagen and Mathias Hefel via Vollbild Film GmbH, The roots of madness Written and directed by Hagen. Cinematographer is Boris Pfeiffenbach, with editing by Christian Buteker and Audrey Morion.
“For me, releasing this film at a time when disturbing developments threaten to undermine the value system of Western democracies is a deeply personal statement,” Hagen shares in a statement from the director. “Too many people in the Western world see migrants and refugees trying to flee to the West as the cause of this divisive and risky process, when in reality the reasons are very different. I firmly believe that we can only overcome the rising racism and political extremism in our countries if we seek to understand who these people are. That is why I set out to gain a clear understanding of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe that migrants and refugees face on Europe’s fortified borders by capturing real images and sounds from the conflict zones from which they are fleeing. Through Putting those voices alongside our Western values and the West’s political decisions.
Ahead of the world premiere of The Doctor, Hagen spoke to THR on The roots of madness Its timely look at the recent past attempts to illuminate the present and future.
“I wanted to look for the big picture,” the director said. “I was feeling lost in a way when it came to understanding this situation. I wasn’t the only one who saw that our society, when immigration became a big topic, started closing down, building fences and walls, which also opened up a prison. I started thinking: What the hell is going on here?! We have to really understand this. And to do that, we have to go where they came from.”
When Hagen met Tilgner, he felt strongly that they should make a film together. “I had this drive,” he recalls. “That was the initial impetus for starting this film.” Hagen liked Tilgner’s focus beyond players and quarterbacks. “He didn’t really focus on just politicians,” he explained. “He went to the people to understand the atmosphere, the feelings, and what was really going on behind closed doors.” “Thus, he was aware of the suffering of people associated with these wars [have led and] It leads people to become refugees.”
This approach also helped Hagen find the title of the document. “The idea that we have to go where this conflict is coming from, to go to the heart of the conflict, is to go to the roots of this madness that millions of people have to leave,” Hagen said. THR. “As you can see in the film, they don’t want to leave, they have to leave, and that’s what we have to understand from our Western point of view. We have to see that and accept it.”
Hagen noted that he wanted to see and experience the pain and suffering that tends to be so far from his comfortable home in Europe, to share it with others who do not go to the world’s war and conflict zones. “This desire to understand as well [plays into the] “The dramaturgy of the film. And I think that’s also where the empathy and emotion in this film comes from in the way of understanding the same pattern of Western interventions in different places,” he said.
Addressing the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan and other groups mentioned in The roots of madnessThe director explained that he also wanted to focus primarily on the West’s role in their rise and “how we help produce this extremism.”
Hagen also shared his thoughts on the recently started war in Iran. He said: “With this war on Iran, the perception has changed because Donald Trump is not even making an effort to give a justification.” In the case of the Iraq War, George W. Bush and other previous conflicts in the region, “the United States said we’re doing this for peace and democracy,” Hagen noted. “Trump just doesn’t make an effort to stand up for our values anymore. And I think that makes people wake up and understand what we’re losing.” Trump also said it in half a sentence, but his next sentence was complete nonsense. He doesn’t make a real effort to stand up for our values. I think this makes people wake up and understand. How could the leader of the free world attack other countries in this way? Why do we agree to this? Or if we don’t agree, why do we let it happen?”
With that in mind, Hagen emphasized that he hopes not only to help explain where all immigrants come from and why, but also to get audiences thinking about the future. “‘Why are things this way’ is the big question in the film,” he noted. “But we also have to think about the direction we want to go in terms of our values.”
The director hopes he can spark some healthy controversy. “This film tries to open a dialogue about these matters,” Hagen said. THR. “This is my commitment to this film. I believe that we also have to maintain the established methods and find new ways of speaking and dealing with the ‘bad guys’, for example, by bringing them to court. It is not a solution to kill them, because in this way we only produce the extremism that we are fighting and we end up in an endless spiral of violence and killing. I believe that it is in our interest to attack these issues, discuss them and solve them.”
