Full version available on request
writer & director:
production:
cinematography:
editing:
sound design:
music:
Wouter Klinkenberg
LUCA School of Arts
Mischa Dols
Nica Weyts
Wouter Klinkenberg
Wouter Klinkenberg
Louis Casteleyn
Killawatt
A short documentary about the Belgian age estimation procedure of unaccompanied refugee minors and migrants. The film explores the ethical framework of this test, which is used in circumstances where the Belgian state doubts the validity of the claimed minority of a non-accompanied minor. The test scans three separate parts of the subject's skeleton; the wrist, the collarbone and the teeth. The results are compared with average growth patterns of skeletons in youth, and accordingly a conclusion is drawn to determine the age of the subject in question. Two professionals, a doctor and a children's activist, oppose each other in their ideas about the procedure, it’s up to the viewer to find her own position between these two perspectives.
The film was my first documentary and for obvious reasons a project dealing with a very sensitive topic and cast. Even though it didn't end up in the final film, I did interview multiple unaccompanied refugee minors who underwent the procedure. Their stories and experiences shaped the film.
It was made during my second year at the LUCA School of Arts.
