The Mind Game (2023)

Directed by Sajid Khan Nasiri, Els van Driel, Eefje Blankevoort (61 mins)

When he was just 15, Sajid Khan Nasiri (known as SK) fled Afghanistan alone. After a two-year journey filled with danger and hardships – minutely documented on his phone camera – he arrives in Belgium to seek asylum. There, a whole new struggle begins.

They call it ‘the game’: the life-threatening journey that thousands of unaccompanied minors undertake every year seeking protection in Western Europe. For SK, the game started after the Taliban killed his father. Via Iran and Turkey to Eastern Europe he progressed ever closer to his destination, hunted down by violent border police and hostile civilians. In clips recorded with his telephone camera, and in messages to filmmakers Eefje Blankevoort and Els van Driel, he keeps track of his progress.

SK has faith that once he gets to Europe, he’ll be able to settle, go to school, start a new life. But when he arrives in Belgium to seek asylum, a new game begins – ‘the ‘mind game’.

As a child, how do you deal with the enormous mental pressure of the journey, with distrustful authorities, and disturbing messages from the home front?

The Mind Game is an intimate sequel to the award-winning Shadow Game (UK Premiere GHFF2021) – and a powerful account of the psychological pressures young refugees face.

We are delighted and honoured to host an exclusive online preview screening of The Mind Game on Friday 23 June, to mark Refugee Week 2023.

Panel discussion

The screening will be followed by a discussion; guests will include co-director Els van Driel and main protagonist SK Nasiri. More panel details to follow shortly.

Tickets

Registration is now-open and tickets cost £9.99.

As with all our online events, this screening is free of charge for Global Health Film members