Escaping Eritrea

2021 English documentary

Escaping Eritrea

Directed by| Evan Williams
Music by| Nicholas A. Phillips
Original language| English
Production
Producer| Evan Williams
Cinematography| Real footage
Editors| Deb Holland
Bradley Manning
Running time| 53 minutes
Production companies| PBS
Channel 4
Original release
Release| 4 May 2021 (2021-05-04)

Escaping Eritrea is a 2021 English documentary episode produced and directed by Evan Williams.[1] The co-producers are Daffodil Altan, Priyanka Boghani, Daniel Edge, Max Green, Erika Howard, Michelle Mizner and Evan Williams. The real footage was taken by Michael, who was also a refugee from Eritrea who moved to Europe. He put the camera in a jacket pocket with a hole and began filming what was going on around him.[2][3]

The documentary based on the refugee crisis between 2015 and 2016 occurred across the Mediterranean where large groups coming across into Europe from Eritrea.[4] It took five years for the investigations and some secretly documented footage inside a prison also included in the documentary.[5] It made its television premier on 4 May 2021 on PBS through Frontline in United States and later telecast in Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.[6][7]

## Cast

[edit]

* Isias Afwerki - President of Eritrea (archive footage)
* Priyanka Boghani - Reporter
* Sarah Childress - Reporter
* Yemane Gebreab - Adviser to president of Eritrea (archive footage)
* Sheila B. Keetharuth - Former U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Eritrea
* Sophie Okonedo - Narrator (voice)
* Mike Smith - Chair Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea (archive footage)
* Hanna Petros Solomon - Eritrean refugee and activist
* Evan Williams - Reporter
* Judy Woodruff
* Katie Worth - Reporter

## References

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1. ^ Singh, Anita (June 16, 2021). "Undercover in Africa's Secret State: Dispatches, review: this report on Eritrea was truly brave journalism". The Telegraph. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
2. ^ Taddonio, Patrice (May 4, 2021). "'I Didn't Lose Hope': Meet a Man Who Risked His Life to Secretly Film Inside One of Eritrea's Brutal Prisons". FRONTLINE. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
3. ^ "Escaping Eritrea: FRONTLINE". May 4, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
4. ^ Petros, Michael (June 2, 2021). "Reflections on the documentary 'Escaping Eritrea'". One Day Seyoum. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
5. ^ Boghani, Priyanka (May 4, 2021). "'Escaping Eritrea' Filmmaker Evan Williams Describes 'Phenomenal Sacrifice' of Eritreans Sneaking Footage Out of Country". FRONTLINE. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
6. ^ "Escaping Eritrea". FRONTLINE. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
7. ^ "Escaping Eritrea". pbsinternational.org. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

## External links

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* "Escaping Eritrea" at IMDb

## Accolades

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2021 Peabody Award Winner