Documentary Mare Mediterraneum

"Mare Mediterraneum" is a social documentary. It is based on the maritime human migration in the Mediterranean sea, in which in 2019 alone,1283 people died, according to the Migration International Organization (OIM)

The project started with María Chaqués, who is a young Valencian activist committed to human rights. After having helped rescue a patera (small boat) from the coast of Cadiz and having worked with migrants and refugees for more than 10 years, she has decided to document the reality of this situation inside and outside Europe.

The documentary tells the story of the people who clandestinely migrate to Spain and the trip of a Spanish woman who takes the same trip inversely in order to understand the origins of this phenomenon.

FACT SHEET

Format: Documentary

Genre: Social

Duration: 60 minutes

Languages: French, Spanish, Wolof

STORYLINE

Maria embarks to a trip through Senegal in order to find answers to the motivations of those who decide to take a trip of life or death to arrive to "El Dorado" (the golden land). The desired Europe which becomes the dream of a better life far away from their land. This is the story of encounters in both sides of the Mediterranean with different voices that question the concepts of migration, dignity, freedom, hope, maternity and community. At the same time, the narrator lives a transformative personal process intertwined with the act of becoming the mother of an afrovalencian child.

NARRATIVE STRUCTURE

Mare Mediterraneum is a documentary about migration, maternity and community which is based on "Maria's trip" which weaves the rest of characters and stories which are "The route of the pateras (small boats)" and "Aminata's dream". ( “La ruta de los cayucos” and “El sueño de Aminata”.)

"Maria's trip" starts with a story that changes her life forever: the rescuing of African passangers of a "patera" (small boat) when she is working on Fortuny's cruiseship going from Canarias to Cadiz in 2007. This experience creates a huge social and professional implication in her which takes her to cofound the social, educational and artistic collective "AfroLatidos" (Afro heart beats). This initiative starts together with migrant and autoctonous people to act for social justice and interculturality.

Maria and other people from African, European and Latin origins continue shooting this documentary which is how she meets Mamadou Dia and Aboubacar Serifou, from Senegal and Ivory coast respectively. Aboubacar will end up playing a very important role in her current life without being aware of it back then. She then returns to Senegal to live her own challenges looking for answers to her most personal questions. Afterwards, she comes back to Spain where she lives a very important event in her life which is the pregnancy of her first child.

"The journey of the cayucos (small boats)" is a journey in which thousands of people risk their lives to arrive to "El Dorado" (the golden land) in order to look for a better future and it is also the journey in which other thousands of people drown in the depths of the Mare Mediterraneum. In this narrative line, different views of looking at this process take place, from those who have already arrived in Spain, to the friends and family members who are in Senegal and that to this day, have no information about their loved ones.

In her trip around Senegal, Maria visits Mamdou Dia whom she met in Valencia and who founded "Hahatay, Gandiol laughters" (Hahatay, son risas de Gandiol). This is a non-profit organisation which works towards the cooperation between Senegal and Spain. In "Aminata's dream" (El sueño de Aminata) part, the documentary explores the concept of community from the point of view of those who have united to achieve a better future. This is the case of Mamadou and the Senegaleas rapper Thiat, who is part of the group "Keur fui" and the citizen movement "Y en a Marre".

This is how the sotry of Aminata or of Nerea Perez-Arrospide Navallas is included. She was a young cooperating Basque architect who travelled to Senegal with the willigness to share her knowledge to develop social projects such as the cultural centre Sunu Xarit Aminata de Hahatay (Our friend, Aminata from Hahatay). This centre was built by her closest friends and family and the habitants of Gandiol after she died in a traffic accident in Senegal in 2015.

REWARDS

There are accummulative rewards which will be available as long as this funding campaing lasts. Additionally, there are two unique rewards. One is a bogolan fabric made by Sakimba Hema from Burkina Faso and given by the organisation CIM Burkina. The other unique reward is the original painting "Pensar el Mediterraneo" (Thinking the Mediterranean) signed by Durome (Eduardo Romaguera). There are also exclusive rewards for collectives, organisation and enterprises.

Who we are

The Mare Mediterraneum project is made up of a multicultural diverse team that stands out for its social sensitivity. We are mainly two organisations that coordinate this project which are supported by volunteers and collaborative entities.

AfroLatidos is a social, educational and artistic mixed collective in which migrants and autoctonous people work for Human Rights, social inclusion and interculturality. Our commitment is based on collectively building a community in which we are personally and socially transformed to create a kinder world based on respecting diversity. The founders of AfroLatidos are Aboubacar Serifou from Ivory Coast and María Chaqués who both live in Comunidad Valenciana..

Arka Productora Colectiva is a project dedicated to making and spreading documentaries and fictional audiovisual creations. Our initiatives have a social scope which aim to be a collective building bridge among the people who participate. The founder of Arka Productora Colectiva is Kean Leiva who is a Chilean living in Valencia.

María Chaqués Serrano is a communicator, trainer and intercultural mediator in Valencia. She has worked in different social, artistic and international cooperative projects for 15 years. These projectes are linked to cultural diversity and migration in different organisations which work with Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia. She has recently received the Acknowledgement of Good Practices in Diversity Management in the category of Communication from Cepaim Fundation with the support from the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration and the European Social Fund.

Aboubacar Serifou is an intercultural mediator from the Ivory Coast who is involved with different social entites. He is the cofounder of AfroLatidos Collective, the Secretary of Ceuna Association and a member of Murcia's Ivorians Association. His migration journey has made him resilient and highly involved with this cause.

Jean Leiva Reyes is a journalist and audiovisual producer from Chile. He has a Master in Audiovisual Content and Formats from the University of Valencia. Nowadays, he lives in Valencia where he has founded Arka Productora Colectiva. For over 10 years, he has been working in the area of journalism and audiovisual producing videoclips, documentaries, documentary series and fictional short films.

What we do with your donations

A big part of the documentary and interviews have already been filmed in Spain and Senegal. For this reason, we are looking for funding to finish the documentary and use the funds to work on production, postproduction and difusion. The most important one is the production in which last shootings, screenwriting, advisory scripting and musical background have to be worked on among others. Additionally, the postproduction involves editing and sound production. Lastly, difusion involves digital and physical promotion.

Planned Schedule

October-November-December: Launching of crowdfunding campaign, and promotional events

Januray-February-March: Screenwriting, shooting in Comunidad Valenciana and beginning staging.

April-May-June: Shooting in Euskadi and finishing the documentary.

July-August: Postproduction of sound and image.

September-October: Documentary presentation. Delivering of rewards linked to the documentary.

+ Info and RRSS

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