After fleeing his native country of Afghanistan at just 15, Wasiullah has spent his adolescent years in Denmark, relishing in teenage antics but also nervously awaiting acceptance for permanent residency. Denmark provides support for unaccompanied child refugees such as Wasi and his friends, but only until they reach 18. Then, they are on their own.
Michael Graversen’s eye-opening film investigates what happens to the many refugee children who disappear from asylum centres year after year when their application for asylum is rejected. It provides brutally honest depictions of the transience, isolation and frightening uncertainty they face.
A crucial piece of modern filmmaking, DREAMING OF DENMARK finally gives an authentic voice to those who desperately need to be heard.
Director: Michael Graversen
Producer: Lise Saxtrup
Development producer: Emilie Lebech Kaae
Line producer: Sofie Rørdam
Executive producer: Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen
Cinematographer: Michael Graversen
Editors: Rebekka Jørgensen & Sofie Steenberger
Composer: Katharina Nuttall & Uno Helmersson
Supported by The Danish Film Institute and DR
The intimate portrait of an young Afghan refugee in “Dreaming of Denmark” (2015) earned him a CPH:DOX F:ACT Award nomination and “No Man’s Land” (2013), a strong depiction of life at a children’s asylum center was selected for IDFA and 25+ festivals.
Previous films include the shorts “An Anxious Mind”, “Toxic Ground” and “The Last Night Shift”.
Michael Graversen graduated in Documentary Directing from the National Film and TV School in the UK and holds a BA in Film & Media Science and Psychology from Copenhagen University.
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