The Art of Flight

The “flight” in Davin Anders Hutchins' documentary refers to refugees fleeing war-torn Sudan for Egypt, and the film explores the difficulties they face attempting to integrate into Egyptian society or move on to other areas of the world. Hutchins treats his subject with skill and sensitivity, particularly in segments featuring the Sudanese themselves speaking about their hopes on the one hand and problems they face on the other (their frustrations in dealing with relief agencies and their resigned acceptance of discrimination from the Egyptian populace are poignantly expressed). But The Art of Flight is also as much about the filmmaker as the Sudanese: Hutchins begins by describing his risky decision to become an independent film journalist traveling to Egypt to investigate the refugee situation, and throughout he returns to his sometimes tense relationships with his subjects and the professional aspects of the project. Hutchins is also not reluctant to editorialize or encourage interviewees to do likewise; criticism of U.S. policy, and of the dictatorial tendencies of the Mubarek government in Egypt, is a major theme here (which may explain why some of the Sudanese eventually distanced themselves from the director, whose imprudence they might have deemed dangerous). But even if one finds Hutchins a somewhat intrusive presence, The Art of Flight is nonetheless worth watching for the light it sheds on the refugee crisis in northeast Africa and—by drawing upon music and painting—the insights it offers into Sudanese culture. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)