General Information
Completed On: 03 Jun, 2021
Duration: 2 min 58 sec
Genres: Documentary, Short
Language: English
Country: Netherlands
Submitted By: Roel Swierenga
Festival Rating
On the borders of Europe a humanitarian drama unfolds. Boat refugees trying to safely reach land are being pushed back into the open sea, causing many people to die. This must stop now. Don't look away.
-
DirectorsRoel Swierenga
-
ProducersRoel Swierenga
-
WritersRoel Swierenga
-
Key CastMarian van Voorn
-
Film TypeDocumentary, Short
-
Genresshort documentary
-
Runtime2 minutes 58 seconds
-
Completion Date03 Jun, 2021
-
Production Budget1000 EUR
-
Country of OriginNetherlands
-
Country of FilmingGreece, Netherlands
-
Film LanguageEnglish
-
Shooting FormatiPhone 11 Pro, 1080p
-
Aspect Ratio16:9
-
Film ColorColor
-
Student ProjectNo
-
First-time FilmmakerYes
Stockholm City Film Festival
Sweden
Stockholm
Winner My 1st Documentary, June 2021
Royal Wolf Film Academy
United States
Los Angeles
Winner Best Short Documentary, August 2021
Reale Film Festival
Italy
Milano
Winner, Honorable Mention for best short documentary, July/August 2021
San Francisco Short Film Festival
United States
San Francisco
Official Selection, September 2021
Beyond the Curve International Film Festival
France
Paris
Official Selection, Finalist June/July 2021
Argenteuil International Film Festival
France
Argenteuil
Official Selection, Finalist, June 2021
Amsterdam Short Film Festival
Netherlands
Amsterdam
Official Selection, June 2021
The Film Inn Leaderboard
United Kingdom
London
Official Selection
ThinkShorts
United States
online platform
Official Selection, Honorable Mention
Director's Biography
Roel Swierenga is the founder of the Hansa Green Tour Foundation in The Netherlands and organizer of sustainability events, study trips & trade delegations, and speaker at conferences. As director of the annual Hansa Green Tour event in Europe, an epic road trip with electric and alternative energy vehicles through Northern Europe, he decided to have these inspiring sustainability road trips documented and filmed from the very beginning in 2011 for personal use and to share with all partners and participants.
Over the years these video documentaries have become more professional and nowadays Hansa Green Tour organizes re-union events where these documentaries are proudly presented to participants, partners and sponsors. As event director however Roel Swierenga was mostly guiding the camera crew, busy behind the scenes but not behind the camera himself. Due to the covid pandemic and all events & traveling being cancelled, Roel Swierenga started to train himself in mobile filmmaking, editing and drone flying skills.
In 2021 he started to make a first series of short films, to gain experience and learn the art of mobile filmmaking with smartphones, smartphone lenses and drones. With the ambition to grow as a filmmaker and make impactful productions.
The short film PUSHBACK is his first time entry as a filmmaker.
Director's Statement
The world is a great place for all of us that live in freedom. Let's celebrate our freedom but don't look away from those who don't live in freedom and stand up for their rights
