The Mind Game
Sajid Khan Nasiri is one of thousands of unaccompanied refugee children arriving in Western Europe each year in search of protection. Many of these children have spent years enduring a life-threatening journey – one they call “the game.” In their country of arrival, they hope to go to school and start a new life, but then a whole new game begins: “the mind game.” How do children deal with the enormous psychological pressure of these journeys, encounters with questionable authorities, and disturbing messages from home? The Mind Game is an intimate documentary, primarily shot from a first-hand perspective, about the psychological pressure that young refugees face.
Eefje Blankevoort studied history at the University of Amsterdam, and has since developed into a journalistic Swiss Army Knife. She writes articles and books, makes interactive projects, exhibitions and documentary films. She is the co-founder of the journalistic production agency, Prospektor. She co-directed The Mind Game.
Els van Driel is a freelance documentary filmmaker. She created the award-winning youth documentary series, Just Kids, about children’s rights, and was co-founder/director, together with Eefje Blankevoort, of the multimedia productions The Asylummachine and The Deal, an analysis of the consequences of the 2017 EU-Turkey deal. In 2020, she co-directed Shadow Game, a multi-award winning transmedia documentary project.
Sajid Khan (SK) Nasiri was born in Afghanistan, in 2004. He had just turned fifteen when he fled his homeland. His perilous journey to and through Europe took more than two years. He was one of the main characters in the multi-award winning documentary Shadow Game, and one of the driving forces behind the accompanying impact campaign, “Protect Children on the Move.” He has spoken in the European Parliament, at the Council of Europe, and in the Croatian Parliament to raise awareness of the violation of refugee children’s rights. He is currently studying in Belgium, and is working on becoming a TikTok journalist, reporting on the life of refugee teenagers in Europe and the Afghan diaspora. This is his co-directorial debut.