Paul has made his way from his home in Cameroon across the Sahara to the Moroccan coast, where he now lives in a forest waiting for the right moment to cross the Mediterranean. This is where he meets Jakob, a filmmaker from Berlin, who is filming along Europe's borders. Soon afterwards, Paul manages to cross over to Spain on a rubber boat. He survives – but half of his companions die on this tragic 50-hour odyssey. Held for two months in a deportation centre, upon his release Paul meets Jakob again at a shelter for migrants in Southern Spain. When Paul decides to continue on to Germany, Jakob has to make a choice: will he become an active part of Paul's pursuit of a better life, or remain a detached documentary filmmaker?
Jakob Preuss, born 1975 in Berlin, is a documentary filmmaker. His films, shot in Iran, Bosnia, and Ukraine, have been shownin over ten countries and screened at numerous festivals. His last film The Other Chelsea won the First Steps Award and the Grimme Award in Germany. In addition to his activities as a filmmaker, Jakob Preuss is also engaged in political work. In 2014 Jakob co-founded the initiative Geht Auch Anders, whereby artists engage with political issues and take a stance. Since 2014, he has beenregularly invited to speak as a expert onmigration, a direct result of the four years of research he conducted for When Paul Came Over the Sea. Preuss holds a law degree from the Sorbonne in Paris and a Masters’ degree from the College of Europe, Natolin.
Selected: The Other Chelsea (2010)
