VIDEO: Red-carpet film premier The Bridge to Paradise at the Marbella International Film Festival

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK-qkYgOanU&feature=youtu.be

In the summer of 2017, two Chinese filmmakers started a journey filming only on mobile phones, and travelled through 16 countries from Cannes to Damascus.

Their aim was to document the situation of refugees in the ‘post-refugee era’ as well as present the truth about the current situation in Syria.

The outcome was The Bridge to Paradise, a documentary that premieres at the Marbella International Film Festival at 5pm tomorrow, Wednesday October 2 at the Teatro Goya in Pueto Banus.

Tickets for the red-carpet screening, which will be preceded by a cocktail reception, are available from info@marbellafilmfestival.com

The film is heart-warming and tear jerking as well as truthfully informative in a way the producers hope will show the reality that the day-to-day media fails to convey.

For Syria, the statistics are frightening. Since the conflict began in 2012 around half a million Syrians have been killed or are missing presumed dead.

An estimated six million Syrians are now refugees, and the same amount again have been internally displaced or are homeless within their country.

The war in Syria has also meant that much of Syria’s rich cultural heritage has also been destroyed.

The Bridge to Paradise tells the heart-breaking story of some of the estimated 1.5 million refugees that have fled to Europe for a better life, and the many struggles they face on their journey.

Chinese director Jianan Fan, who produces movies often relating to multiculturalism or religion, met Chinese photographer Zhilei Zhang at the Cannes film festival.

Shortly after the two set out on their journey that they hoped would bring worldwide recognition to the plight of refugees affected by the Syrian civil war.

The film was produced by Ben Niu who turned the phone images into an impactful film that has so far enjoyed critical acclaim.