FORBIDDEN
TO ENTER

In 2015, Omar fled from Syria to Germany via the Balkan route. Several years later, he retraces part of that path: back to the Bosnian-Croatian border, where migrants and refugees are stranded today.

In the Bosnian border town of “Velika Kladuša,” several thousand people live in an overcrowded camp, in run-down buildings, or in makeshift camps in the forest. Omar meets people from Syria, Iran, and Algeria on their way to Europe. The so-called “Game” — their attempt to cross the green border between Bosnia and Croatia — often ends with them being caught by Croatian border police and sent back, without their asylum request ever being heard. Many report abuse during illegal pushbacks. A café owner tells Omar about the mood among the locals.

The documentary blends Omar’s impressions and encounters with personal commentary and footage from Omar’s own escape in 2015 along the Balkan route to Germany.

We see Omar, now settled in Europe, going back to those who haven’t yet made it. Empathy and deep understanding born of shared experience create encounters on equal footing.

In his yellow jacket, he seems like an outsider in a world he has left behind — until, standing in front of a supermarket, he is reminded that he is still part of it: the sign reads “Migrants are forbidden to enter.”