Lost Land

In the hope of reuniting with their scattered family, four-year-old Shafi and his nine-year-old sister Somira leave a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh on a perilous journey to reach Malaysia. The long journey of refugees portrayed through the eyes of children, blending harsh reality with elements of fantasy.

Somira and her brother Shafi always seem to find time to play games, even when fleeing by boat from Bangladesh. The sudden arrival of coastguards scatters the Rohingya refugees, stranding them in southern Thailand. The children are soon plunged into a real-life hide-and-seek game as they hunt for food, shelter, and safety. When other refugees take them in, their way to Malaysia seems assured, only for the odds to turn against them.

Starring over two hundred Rohingya people, Lost Land (Harà Watan) by Japanese director Akio Fujimoto is a visceral depiction of their collective experience. Their path is filled with obstacles: the forces of nature, exploitation in cross-border trafficking, and constant challenges that test their strength and resilience. The first feature made entirely in the Rohingya language is shot at the eye-level of its young actors, capturing the trauma of displacement and the silence that allows its perpetuation.