SELECTED LINKS & QUOTES
ENGLISH
The guardian
Remarkable refugee story told with heart and audacity, Benjamin Lee, Jan. 31st, 2021.
“…This year’s first big sale, a well-earned reward for what’s likely to be the best film of the festival”
“Flee is a remarkably humanizing and complex film, expanding and expounding the kind of story that’s too easily simplified”
INDIE WIRE
‘Flee’ Director Wanted Riz Ahmed’s Voice for Sundance Doc After Seeing ‘Sound of Metal’, Zack Sharf, Jan 29, 2021.
“Flee” made news ahead of its Sundance premiere when news broke that Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau were boarding the project as executive producers and to lend their voices for the movie’s English-language dub”.
INDIE WIRE
Animated Documentary About Afghan Refugee Is a Thrilling, Masterful Survival Story, Eric Kohn, Jan 28, 2021.
“There have been countless movies about the immigration crisis, but none of them have the sheer ingenuity of “Flee”.
“With “Flee”, the filmmaker has found a subject whose story resonates because it almost certainly bears resemblance to countless others out there.”
INDIE WIRE
Sundance 2021 Market: 15 Movies That Could Sell Big in a Year of Virtual Discovery, Chris Lindahl, Jan 25, 2021.
“Such bold storytelling was already bound to attract the attention of savvy distributors who might be able to position the film as a 2022 Oscar contender in animation, documentary, and international feature categories all at once.”
ROLLINGSTONE
15 Movies We Can’t Wait to See at Sundance 2021, David Fear, Jan 27, 2021.
“…one refugee’s journey, of a young man’s reckoning with his sexuality and of the perils of growing up in various unstable environments where fight-or-flight is the constant default mode. Even more intriguing: The documentary is animated.”
deadline
‘Flee’ Trailer: Sundance Animation-Doc Chronicles Dramatic Refugee Tale, Tom Grater, Jan 28, 2021.
VARIETY
Doc Explores the Layers of Truth in Afghan Refugee’s Survival Story, Peter Debruge, Jan 28, 2021.
“…the film is an incredibly intimate act of sharing.”
FILMmakermagazine
“It Is Always Tempting in Animation to Show More Than You Need to”: Art Director Jess Nicholls on Flee, Jan 31st, 2021.
“Flee, at its heart, is about how constantly having to flee our situation can affect us in our day to day lives and relationships”.
“…the unbounded use of animation, and how to tell a true story through unique mediums”.
SCREEN DAILY
‘Flee’: Sundance Review, Amber Wilkinson, Jan 29, 2021.
“Rasmussen’s consideration of one man’s journey sheds light on the emotional legacy that can linger even after sanctuary is found”.
Hollywood reporter
'Flee': Film Review | Sundance 2021, David Rooney, Jan 28, 2021.
“A unique escape from the prison of buried memory”.
“Although the interviews function almost like therapy, there's nothing didactic here, nothing clinical or overly analytical. Instead, there's a kind of spontaneous purity to the storytelling, built on the empathetic connection established between the filmmaker and his subject.”
THE PLAYLIST
‘Flee’ Is A Stellar Exploration Of Refuge Trauma [Sundance Review], Gregory Ellwood, Jan 28, 2021.
“At the center of the film, however, are the never-ending repercussions of the horrors many refugees experience”
POPMATTERS
Sundance 2021: Jonas Poher Rasmussen's Animated 'Flee' Leaves You Speechless, Colin Fitzgerald, Feb 2, 2021.
“Flee depicts the refugee experience in color and motion, glimmering with fluid detail and memory that makes it feel dangerously tangible, even behind the veil of its animation”.
Flickering MYTH
2021 Sundance Film Festival Review – Flee, Shaun Munro, Feb 2, 2021.
“Flee conveys the horrors of the refugee experience with artistry matched only by its empathy, its imagery both live-action and animated proving tough to shake”.
REAL SCREEN
Sundance ’21: Jonas Poher Rasmussen opens up about his animated doc “Flee”, Daniele Alcinii, JAn 29, 2021.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
AWArds watch
Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau to exec produce Danish animated documentary ‘Flee,’ will voice leads in English language version, Erik Anderson, Jan 22, 2021
Entertainment weekly
Riz Ahmed to voice animated refugee documentary Flee, Joey Nolfi, Jan 22, 2021.
POC CUlture
Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau to Voice English Version of Documentary ‘Flee’ Premiering at Sundance, Ron Seoul-Oh, Jan 22, 2021.
Variety
Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Board Sundance Animated Documentary ‘Flee’ (EXCLUSIVE), Leo Barraclough, Jan 22, 2021.
REACTIONS
DEADLINE / Matt Grobar
“It’s a really amazing film.”
GOLD DERBY / Chris Rosen
“It was so good and unlike any documentary, I've seen. Honestly, I was completely blown away by it. The animation was so cool.”
INDIEWIRE/ Eric Kohn
“It’s remarkable; I’ve been dying to see it for a long time. It’s a beautiful film.”
ROGER EBERT / FREELANCE / Carlos Aguilar
“I absolutely adored it. One of the very best films I've seen so far out of the festival, just so deeply moving and honest.”
ROLLING STONE/ Dave Fear
“One refugee’s journey, of a young man’s reckoning with his sexuality and of the perils of growing up in various unstable environments where fight-or-flight is the constant default mode. Even more intriguing: The documentary is animated."
AV CLUB / A.A. Dowd
From Twitter: “Started refugee memoir Flee wondering if the striking animation was going to keep distracting me from the voice-over recollections. By the end, I felt a sense of grief about leaving the world (and the man) it so vividly paints. A deeply moving survivor's account. @Sundance2021”
BATTLE ROYALE WITH CHEESE / FANTASTIC FILM FANS / SCREEN GEEK / Matt Conway
From Twitter: “Flee - Documentary filmmaking at its most intimate and vital. I was enamored by Jonas Poher Rasmussen's multitude of forms, telling a personal story reflective of immigrant hardships without spoon-feeding political truths. A Must See #Flee #Sundance2021”
BELOW THE LINE / Edward Douglas
From Twitter: “Holy shit... I wasn't sure if I'd like Flee, but it's an absolutely riveting story through the eyes/words of a refugee who happens to also be gay. NEON has hedged their bets with a great doc that could also get into the Animated Feature race. #Sundance2021”
FANDANGO / Erik Davis
From Twitter: “Just watched #Flee and it immediately became one of my favorite films so far at #Sundance2021. A stunning animated documentary so full of humanity, hope & love, even though it takes you through such awful moments in one’s life. Agree w/ Valerie - I loved it”
FLICKERING MYTH / Shaun Munro
From Twitter: “Flee expertly blends multiple animated styles with live-action to paint a harrowing document of the dehumanizing nature of the refugee experience. Comparisons to WALTZ WITH BASHIR are inevitable, but this is very much its own powerful beast #Sundance #Sundance2021 #FMSundance”
FREELANCE / VARIETY / COLLIDER / Valarie Complex
From Twitter: “#Flee is wonderful. An animated documentary of a Gay man escaping war in Afghanistan. Its tragedy and hope all rolled into one. This is the second queer film have seen two queer movies I like in the last 24 hours my #Sundance2021 Sundance is saved!!”
FREELANCE / THRILLIST / ELITE DAILY/ Abby Monteil
From Twitter: “Really liked Flee and its use of animation and archival footage to capture the horror, trauma, and small moments of catharsis in one gay Afghan refugee’s journey. The kind of empathetic documentary innovation I’d love to see even more of. #Sundance2021”
HYE MUSINGS / Heidi Mo
From twitter: “A beautifully executed #documentary about the difficult journey of an Afghan refugee from childhood to adulthood.”
IN SESSION FILM / JD Duran
From Letterbox: “I mentioned in my CODA write-up that it may end up being my favorite of Sundance this year, but if another takes it, it's likely to beFlee - an incredible portrait of a man grappling with his past after being forced to run from it because of political conflict and war. It's one thing to flee from your past because of emotional turmoil, as facing your trauma is understandbly challenging for some, but it's a whole other matter when… more”
THE JAM REPORT / Doug Jamieson
From Twitter: “Flee is simply astonishing. A brilliant fusion of documentary filmmaking and gorgeous animation to uniquely deliver a compelling true story. Its imagery is both beautiful and tragic. Rasmussen perfectly captures the psychological scars of a refugee haunted by his past. #Sundance”
THE MICHIGAN DAILY / Jacob Lusk
From Letterboxd: “Refugee narratives often make for compelling stories. They have built-in, throbbing engines that grapple the heart and enrich the soul. They’re not subtle, instead weighed down by their reality and situated just so to hit every beat of the range of human emotion. “Flee” is no exception and is, in fact, a paragon”
MOMA / Laurence Kardish
From Twitter: “Jonas Poher Rasmussen's Flee, an animated true life story about an "anonymous" Afghani refugee's horrendous odyssey, is a gentle marvel. Its surprising narrative, punctuated with archival footage, is about resilience, difference, family, and grace. I've already watched it twice.”
PRODUCER / Karin Chien
From Twitter: “Watched two astounding docs Flee and President at virtual Sundance.”
SCREEN ZEALOTS / Louisa Moore
From Letterbox: “A cathartic exercise of a man confronting his painful past so he can move ahead to a brighter future”
THEM / Michael Cuby
From Twitter: “compelling animated documentary Flee”
TORONTO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION / Peter Howeell
From Twitter: “Flee: Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s true story of an Afghan refugee's desperate fight for survival and freedom deserves the #Sundance kudos it is reaping. Artfully blending animation & archive footage, it brilliantly demonstrates the power of film to inform and elevate. #Sundance2021.”
VANITY FAIR / Katey Rich
From Twitter: ‘I loved this movie— the animation made it even more visceral and human. Coming at some point later on from @neonrated”
VOX / ALISSA WILKINSON
From Twitter: “I shall add to the chorus of praise for Flee and for docs that use animation purposefully and well. So personal and moving and imaginative. I do not think we’ll ever have too many good docs that let refugees tell their own stories. #Sundance”
AMPAS -DOC BRANCH / Beth Levison
From Twitter: “WOW. Jonas Poher Rasmussen's #FLEE is staggeringly beautiful, tender and intimate . The #animation takes humanity to another level. Kudos @monicahellstrm, signebyrge & @PhilippaJK and the whole team. Blew me away”
AWARDS RADAR / Shane Slater
From Twitter: “Watched two great docs today so far ('President' and 'Flee'). I'm hoping 'Passing' continues this winning streak tonight. #Sundance”
BOSTON GLOBE / Ty Burr
From Twitter: “Heart-wrenching”
CANDIDCINEMA.COM / Amanda Guarragi
From Twitter: “#Flee is incredibly well done. The mixture of animation, archive footage, and hand-drawn craft to structure this moving story was brilliant. Rasmussen has blown my mind with this! What great work Clapping hands sign #Sundance”
CANDID X CINEMA / Amanda Guarragi
“I really enjoyed the film!”
CINEUROPA / TAKE ONE CINEMA / Grace Han
From Twitter: “Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen) - low fps is a letdown (animation is clearly secondary in this anidoc), but poignant for its content. In this gay Afghan refugee's search for acceptance - why have the truth if lies keep you safe? Somber morning watch #Sundance2021”
CINEMACY / Morgan Rojas
From Twitter: “#Sundance: Expanding our idea of what a doc can be, #Flee‘s story of an Afghan refugee’s decades-long plight for survival and, most importantly, self-acceptance, is a deep well of emotional fragility.”
CINESNOB / Cody Villafana
From Twitter: “FLEE: Harrowing, powerful and deeply personal refugee story. Really enjoyed the animation, but I must say that it relies very heavily on animated re-enactments that at times pulled me out of the experience as a doc. Doesn’t lessen the impact of the hard hitting moments.”
COMIC BOOK RESOURCES / Reuben Baron
From Twitter: “My first film at #Sundance is Flee. An important and intense story interestingly told as a documentary-animation hybrid with some beautiful abstract scenes.”
DEADLINE / Matt Grobar
“It’s a really amazing film.”
DIRECTOR (RBG) / Julie Cohen
From Twitter: The animated documentary FLEE from Jonas Poher Rasmussen is unspeakably beautiful. If you missed it at #Sundance, you can look forward to the release from @Neonrated. Reactions to films can be subjective, but this one I GUARANTEE you're going to love.”
EMPIRE / Josh Rothkopf
From Twitter: “Flee is every inch the triumph you’ve been hearing about. A very specific refugee story, told with lyrical universality. I could draw attention to the gifted animators, but I absolutely broke hearing Mari Samuelsen’s violin solo, an essential voice in the film. #Sundance2021”
FANTASTIC FILM FANS / Jason Osia
From Twitter: “FLEE: Seamlessly intermixes a narrative and documentary format, taking you on a conscious journey into the unreconciled memories of a refugee. Compelling and utterly moving, you'll be hearing about this masterwork all year. Riz Ahmed produces and will voice on the dub. #Sundance. Also, embedded into FLEE is a rather lovely and nuanced queer coming of age tale from an Afghan perspective with an unexpected payoff to a coming-out sequence that would've had the whole Sundance Theater cheering ”
FILM DAZE / Aaron Linskey
From Twitter: “FLEE was just gorgeous. Hell of a way to start Sundance.”
FILMMAKER MAGAZINE / Aaron Hunt
“I liked the mixed media and it was carefully done in a way I appreciated”
FILMMAKER MAGAZINE / Chithra Jeyaram
From Twitter: “Look out for the documentary "Flee" It is one of the most rounded accounts of the refugee experience and the prolonged trauma one experiences. #refugees #Sundance2021”
THE FILM EXPERIENCE / Murtada Elfadl
From twitter: ‘The central conceit in Flee rings so true. Asylum seekers can never tell the whole truth bec it’ll be held against them by oppressive immigration systems. Lovely. This is the one not to miss @ #Sundance2021. This was wonderful. LOVED. Major contender for the world doc prize I’m sure.”
FIRST SHOWING / Alex Billington
From Twitter: “Flee - An innovative and remarkably tender documentary about the life of an Afghan refugee who escape to Denmark. Tells & explains better than ever before in cinema the reasons why and the extremely brutal paths to freedom that so many refugees must take. A superb film. #Sundance”
FREELANCE / VULTURE / SYFY / Lauren Coates
From Twitter: “love any time a film pushes the boundaries of a medium, and Flee is an incredible example of how to use animation in documentary filmmaking. Amin's story is told in a beautiful, deeply personal and haunting way, and it'll stay with me for a long time. #SundanceFilmFestival2021”