Watch Between Fences

Between Fences is a fascinating and heartwarming documentary that tells the story of African asylum seekers who are living within a detention center in Israel. The film showcases their struggles, daily challenges, and interactions among themselves, as well as with the guards and the Israeli government. Produced and directed by Avi Mograbi, the documentary is an excellent portrayal of life in a detention camp where people are fighting for their rights and humanity.

The film begins by showing the African immigrants, mainly from Sudan and Eritrea, walking towards the Holot detention center in Israel, a facility where the government houses asylum seekers for an indefinite period. The center has a capacity of over 3,000 people, and many of them are cramped in tiny rooms. The documentary follows the lives of a few immigrants and their daily routines in the center, including working in nearby towns, sports activities, and religious practices.

Between Fences is a unique documentary that avoids the usual political and partisan debates around asylum seekers in Israel. Instead, it humanizes the stories of people who are waiting for years to have their asylum claims processed, living in a state of constant limbo while facing a range of societal and bureaucratic barriers. Director Avi Mograbi executes the documentary by filming the immigrants through the fences and other barriers that confine them, providing a powerful metaphor for their isolation and confinement.

Through interviews with the subjects of the documentary, it becomes apparent that the Israeli authorities view them as criminals, rapists, and drug dealers, despite many of them fleeing their homes due to conflict and persecution. The immigrants' activism within the detention center is an attempt to appeal to the Israeli people to understand their plight instead of being seen only as a threat.

The film presents the African immigrants as people with talents and dreams, rather than merely victims. One of them, Awet Asheber, is a passionate rapper who performs his songs for his fellow detainees, expressing their pain and longing for freedom. While another, Atish Asefaha, is an entrepreneur who starts a business selling snack foods to his peers inside the facility, a creative and determined character whose entrepreneurship is admirable.

Between Fences is not only a documentary about the plight of African immigrants living in detention centers; it is also a testament to the human potential for creativity and resilience in the face of adversity. The film shows the sense of community and solidarity that the immigrants have built to support one another and to fight back against their dehumanization. What emerges is a portrait of a group of people who have been reduced to numbers and statistics, but who retain a powerful sense of personal dignity in their fight to be heard and seen.

The documentary's direction is a strong suit, employing metaphors to convey the feelings of frustration, stigma, and hopelessness felt by the detainees. The sound design and the background score of the documentary help to enhance the audience's empathy towards the detainees. The editing of the film is also noteworthy, exploring the wider social and historical contexts of the detainees' stories.

Between Fences is a thought-provoking documentary that explores the plight of African asylum seekers in Israel in a nuanced and human manner. The film's strength is that it provides a platform for immigrants to tell their stories, allowing them a voice that they have been denied in the Israeli public sphere. It is a well-made film that exposes the complexities of living in limbo and the strains on personal dignity and will to survive in a world where human rights are often forgotten or ignored. It is a documentary that must be seen, as it presents a different perspective on a highly politicized and polarizing issue.

Between Fences is a 2017 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 24 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.5.