At an altitude of over 1,700 meters, the Echelle and Montgenèvre passes in the Hautes-Alpes are the new crossing points for migrants arriving in Europe from the Mediterranean Sea. Ignoring the snow, extreme temperatures and difficult orientation, men, women and children risk their lives on this perilous crossing. Over the past two years, more than 3,000 people have crossed the Hautes-Alpes.
The walkers in exile come across locals along the way, mountain dwellers who until the summer of 2016 only knew about the migration crisis from the news.
Among them is Benoit Ducos, a carpenter and father from Briançon. Faced with ever-increasing numbers of arrivals, he decided to organize himself to help them, and joined a network of citizen volunteers. During their “maraudes”, they bring warm clothes and meals to those who are about to climb the mountain, and care for and warm those who are coming down.
After rescuing Marcela, a pregnant Nigerian woman, Benoit’s commitment to helping migrants becomes daily and relentless. But the threat of the offence of solidarity, which punishes those who help would-be migrants, hangs over Benoit and his friends. How can he reconcile his values as a mountaineer, i.e. helping those who lose their way in the mountains, when the latter are in fact a closed border controlled by the authorities?
The film “Au pied du mur” (“At the foot of the wall”) crosses the destinies of exiles and inhabitants caught between Italy, which wants to get rid of migrants, and France, which doesn’t want to welcome them any more.
Official selection “Autrement Vu” – FIGRA 2019 Winner of the Price “Autrement Vu” FIGRA 2019
un film dePeggy Bruguière et James KeoghimageJames KeoghcoproductionLes Films du Sillage & Upfrontavec la participation deFrance Ô et France 3 Corse ViaStellaannée2018durée52'