14 September 2015
“District Zero” shows the lives of Syrian
refugees through their phones at the San
Sebastián International Film Festival
The powerful story of a Syrian refugee living in Jordan’s Zaatari camp, who fixes mobile phones
and helps fellow refugees print photos of happier times, is the focus of “District Zero”, a new
documentary to premiere at the 63rd edition of the San Sebastián International Film Festival
(Spain).
The documentary was produced by Arena Comunicación and Txalap.art with the support of
Oxfam and European Commission. It will screen in the Zinemira section of the San Sebastian
festival. British actress Michelle Dockery narrates the film’s trailer.
The main character is Maamun Al-Wadi. He runs a small mobile phone shop where he restores
the only link his neighbours still have with Syria recovering lost content and recharging phone
batteries.
One day he decides to buy a printer to offer his clients the possibility of printing the photos
saved in their mobile phones. Their memory cards contain their past in Syria: everyday routine,
family life, happiness … and then war, destruction, fear and flight.
What’s hidden inside the smartphone of a refugee?
“During filming in Zaatari camp, we discover that in Maamun’s tiny shop no-one wants to print
off photos of the war - there is much more to the refugees’ sense of identity than that. They
want to remember, they want to emphasise, their Syrian identity - their identity as individual
people,” explained Jorge Fernández Mayoral, one of the three directors of the film.
“The photographs printed off in Maamun’s shop every day not only make us ask questions
about the identity of the refugees, but also about our own identity: Who are we? Why are we
here? Where were we born? Where will we die?” adds Fernández Mayoral.
Through the mobile phones of the refugees, the public is brought into their reality and discovers
that this could happen to them as well.
British actress and Humanitarian Ambassador for Oxfam, Michelle Dockery visited Zaatari camp
in 2013 with the aid agency. Dockery narrated "District Zero" trailer in a bid to raise awareness
about the Syria crisis: "District Zero is a fascinating film that takes us into the often invisible
world of refugees: a world of chaos and uprootedness. It shows us the complex human realities
of people who have been driven to extremes, but who, against many odds, still have hope”.
"Zaatari refugee camp is now the fourth largest city in Jordan. It is a bleak place in the middle of
the desert where life is extremely hard but the people there remain resilient and positive. Many
of the people I met come from lives not dissimilar to ours – with families and friends, jobs and
homes. But conflict has forced them to live in these camps with an uncertain future. They
remain stuck in limbo, unsure when they will be able to reunite with their families, or go back to
their homeland”, explains Dockery.
Raise awareness on the refugees
The District Zero film is part of the ‘EUsaveLIVES - You Save Lives’ campaign that Oxfam and
the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) have
been implementing this year to raise awareness on the lives of almost 60 million refugees and
displaced people worldwide and the vitally important role humanitarian aid has in their lives.
"This documentary is part of the campaign EUsaveLIVES, raising awareness about the situation
of refugees worldwide, in this case Syrian refugees", says Alexander Polack, Spokesperson for
Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management & International Cooperation and Development. "The
Syria conflict has triggered the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II. Humanitarian
needs steadily rise, population displacements continue, and an entire generation of children is
being exposed to war and violence, increasingly deprived of basic services, education and
protection", adds Polack. "The European Union and its Member States have collectively
spearheaded the international response to provide the so needed support in Syria and
neighbouring countries, together with International Organisation and NGOs in the field".
“Presenting a snap-shot of the day-to-day life of a refugee, we aim to show that behind every
number and statistic about the refugee issue, there is a story to be told. We want to give a face
to the daily drama of millions of people with the final aim to obtain the empathy of the public,”
explains Pablo Tosco, spokesperson for Oxfam and director of the documentary.
“We decided to shoot the documentary in Zaatari because it is one of the biggest refugee
camps in the world. It shows one of the crises that has caused the most displacements: more
than 4 million people have fled to neighbouring countries while 7.6 million people are displaced
inside Syria,” affirms Pablo Tosco.
Both Oxfam and the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department
(ECHO) are working to support affected populations by the Syria crisis since the beginning.
Participation in the San Sebastián International Film Festival
The documentary will be released the next 20th of September as part of the 63rd edition of the
San Sebastián International Film Festival (Spain). After its premiere in this scenario, the film will
be exhibited in a festival circuit including national and international festivals. The upcoming
events will be announced in www.districtzero.org
“It is an honour to participate in San Sebastian with District Zero - to show on screen in this
prestigious scenario the heartbreaking reality of refugees in the world,” says Pablo Iraburu, one
of the three directors of the film and CEO of Arena Comunicación. “This is a collaborative film,
directed by three different people, while production has involved people from half a dozen
countries. Throughout the process many different languages have been spoken and we are
proposing the distribution of the film to be global”, concludes Iraburu.
The documentary was produced by Arena Comunicación and Txalap.art, with the support of
Oxfam and ECHO. The film was directed by Pablo Iraburu, Jorge Fernández Mayoral and Pablo
Tosco. It also had the collaboration of the music label Alia Vox, with Jordi Savall as musical
director.
ENDS
Note to editors
● More information: www.districtzero.org
●
Spokespersons are available for interviews on the making of the documentary.
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Trailer with Michelle Dockery:
http://imagenesypalabras.oxfamintermon.org/?r=27708&k=27497b7bc1
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Dossier: http://imagenesypalabras.oxfamintermon.org/?r=27713&k=f59a0032f5
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Photos: http://imagenesypalabras.oxfamintermon.org/?c=3558&k=c370fe9dd4

VNR: http://imagenesypalabras.oxfamintermon.org/?r=27714&k=b9fb600b1d

Audios: http://imagenesypalabras.oxfamintermon.org/?r=27704&k=51a496484e
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The ‘District Zero’ film is part of the ‘EUsaveLIVES-You Save Lives’ project that
Oxfam and the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection
department (ECHO) have been implementing to raise awareness of the lives of
refugees and displaced people focusing on three ongoing crises: Syria, South Sudan
and the Central African Republic. eusavelives.org
Oxfam is a world-wide development organization that mobilizes the power of people
against poverty. Oxfam is made up of 17 organisations across the world; they work
together with disadvantaged people who are confronting injustice to demand their
rights. Oxfam saves lives in humanitarian crises: Syria, South Sudan and the Central
African Republic are some of the emergencies it is working in at the moment.
www.oxfamintermon.org
The European Union and its Member States are the world's leading donor of
humanitarian aid. Relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity towards
people in need all around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent and alleviate human
suffering, and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by
natural disasters and man-made crises. The European Commission ensures rapid and
effective delivery of EU relief assistance through its two main instruments: humanitarian
aid and civil protection. The Commission, through its Humanitarian Aid and Civil
Protection department (ECHO), helps over 120 million victims of conflict and disasters
every year. http://ec.europa.eu/echo/
Arena Comunicación and Txalap.art have been producing audiovisual content for
more than 10 years and specialise in documentaries. Their work includes important
pieces such as Nömadak TX http://txalapart.com/nomadak-tx-2/?lang=en (submitted to
more than 100 festivals and winning15 awards), Pura Vida www.puravidatheridge.com
(the most viewed documentary in Spain in 2012), Walls www.wallsmuros.com
(documentary and series in production for Discovery Max
https://vimeo.com/118134951) and currently District Zero. These projects have received
awards and mentions in important festivals such as the San Sebastián International
Film Festival, IDFA International Festival of Amsterdam, Guadalajara Film Festival,
Trento Film Festival, Durban and Silverdocs.
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For furthermore inquiry, please contact:
OLAIZOLA COMUNICA
Laura Olaizola- Directora de comunicación
Laura@olaizola.info/ 607976354
Julia Sánchez- jefa de prensa
Prensa1@olaizola.info/ 620 06 33 53
Oxfam Intermón
Laura Hurtado
932 147 592 / 646 975 904
lhurtado@oxfamintermon.org
Comisión Europea
Alexandre POLACK (+32 2 299 06 77)
alexandre.polack@ec.europa.eu
Marcela Ospina
Daniel PUGLISI (+32 (0)2 29 69 140)
934 820 741 / 628 460 657
mospina@oxfamintermon.org
daniel.puglisi@ec.europa.eu