The Last Memory!

The Last Memory is a film about a journey through loss, pain, and memory. It is a poetic homage to the death of a young Yemeni champion, Helal Al-Hajj, who tragically lost his life at sea, whilst seeking refuge from the ongoing war in Yemen.

We all know that losing a close friend will affect us in many different ways and how we express our grief, sorrow and pain will take many forms. To refugees, who have already lost so much, losing a loved one can be even more harrowing and so the film's underlying concept is to raise more awareness about the reality of why refugees go to such extremes for survival and why they risk their lives on these very dangerous trips, just for a slim chance of escaping the dangers in their home country. Through this film I want people to understand that tragic and countless loses are happening every single day due to these needless wars being raged, for one thing, power.
 
 

Helal, who tragically lost in life in September 2019
 
Since early 2018, Neil George, a British film director who has been living in South Korea since 2011 started working on a new series of short films, in association with the UNHCR, exploring the stories of the Yemeni refugees who came to Jeju seeking asylum. The film series explores some of the stories of the refugees who came to Jeju, but this film pays particular attention to the plight of all refugees who seek refuge by crossing the sea, in hope for a new life. By the time refugees and migrants step onto a boat, many will have been tortured, raped, held for ransom, and seen people die around them. These refugees risk everything to make the treacherous journey as their lives they leave back home pose a greater threat than the sea.
 
 

 
Since arriving on Jeju, between January and May 2018, the Yemeni refugees have clearly found it difficult to integrate into the society but they are trying their best to fit in, and trying all they can to find some peace and a new place to call home after leaving their war-torn country. The initial reaction from the South Korean people was to petition the government to deport them, which was quite shocking but not surprising. As time went on the reaction slowly dropped but there are still a lot of people not willing to accept them based on little or no information about why they came here in the first case.  The refugees, unable to return to Yemen due to the civil war, for fear of death and potentially being enlisted into the fight they are now spending their time in search of a new place to call home. But is their idea of home a place of beauty or is it something as simple as having a place to rest their heads without fear?

Ahmed Askar, a close friend of Helal, is one of these refugees. We listened to some of his story in the short film, Passion, and now we pay homage to his close friend in The Last Memory.
 


What is the significance of the Yemen refugees? 

As you are all aware the Yemen war has been raging on for more than 5 years now and in fact, Yemen has never really settled since after the North/South divide in the 1990s. So, for people to understand the refugee issue they must understand Yemen and the current situation it is going through. I decided to start by writing several articles (links below) about the situation, and from these articles came the teaser and the concept behind the films. From that came the partnership with the UNHCR, so now I hope that we can generate more partnerships and donations so we can share the stories of the refugees and raise more awareness about what is happening in Yemen and the issue surrounding refugees!

Article 1 - Paradise Lost

https://www.neilpgeorge.com/blog/2018/11/24/paradiselost2

Article 2 - 3 days that changed my life: 

https://www.neilpgeorge.com/blog/2018/11/24/3daysthatchangedmylife 

Article 3 - Re-born

https://www.neilpgeorge.com/blog/2018/12/21/re-born-the-journey-to-find-my-freedom

 

The team filming near Daebu-do, South Korea
 
What has happened so far? 

When we first started this project we were just using our own money to find out more information about the issue and to fly to Jeju in order to meet some of the refugees. After meeting with several of them over a couple of days it became apparent that no-one was really wanting to tell their stories, just have some basic interviews with them in order to publish some news in the local media. We felt that this wasn't enough and that if people are to truly understand both them and the Yemen situation someone had to give them a voice. This is why we decided to do produce a series of films. I produced the teaser, "Paradise Lost" on my return to Seoul and after receiving some positive feedback I decided to reach out and see if there was any potential funding available.

I decided that I would try to reach out to a few NGOs and the UNHCR to see if they can help could help and we were very fortunate that the UNHCR took great interest in the project and decided to partly sponsor it. However, the budget is quite limited and this is why we are now turning to ask for some extra help from you once again.

We have now finished 3 of the films and have started production on the 4th. The film 'Passion' won Best Short film at a film festival in Hollywood, and all 3 of the films have been selected into various festivals around the world and screened in South Korea, the USA, Canada, Australia, and Italy so far. But, of course, in order to continue producing the films, we need a little extra financial help, mostly, so we can do all the necessary traveling, organizing and shooting. And so, this is why we are asking for your help.
 
 

Official poster - Passion
 
What can you do? 

I hope that you can help support us in raising more awareness about what is happening in Yemen, through the voices of these refugees. I am a firm believer that being able to use art and film in order to have open dialogue and discussion about this issue is the starting point for understanding and with understanding comes empathy. We cannot understand unless we hear their voices and so the most important thing is to create these films, giving them a much-needed place to voice their views, ideas, and hopes for the future.
 
 

Ahmed Askar and Neil P George discussing the shot
 
Why do we need your generous donations?  

We have now completed 3 films and now starting production on the 4th, The Last Memory but there are essential parts of this story that we need to recreate. We also need to make sure to eat in between takes and as many of you are aware of creating films is a long process and it takes time and money to make them a success. Having the extra funds will help significantly with the production and allow us more time and less stress in the process. One of the main aims is to create a series of films that can help people to understand what the refugees have been through, and this takes time and patience, so we know the stories we are sharing represent them properly. Once completed we then also need to get the films out so people can actually watch them, whether through film festivals or online platforms. This also takes time and money to do successfully and so the more fund we have available the more chance we have of sharing these films with the world.

What is left to do?  

So far we have finished 3 films and now working on the 4th. We have some funding in place but not enough funding to complete everything. So, we are now reaching out to raise a little extra money so we can complete the series. Once completed we will need to edit, color grade, create the music and of course promote them. This all doesn't come cheap but luckily we have the backing of the UNHCR, who will be doing some publicity and promotion of the initial 3 films. The idea is in creating this series we get to listen to compelling and interesting stories about the refugees and help to highlight what they have been through and are currently going through as they try to rebuild their lives.

Thanks very much for taking the time to read our project and we thank you in advance for supporting us.