Sound of Torture

Sound of Torture is a 2013 documentary film written and directed by Israeli filmmaker Keren Shayo which follows Eritrean radio host and human rights activist Meron Estefanos as she reports on Eritrean refugees who have been captured in Sudan while migrating across the Sinai Peninsula into Israel.

Sound of Torture
Film poster
Directed byKeren Shayo
Produced byOsnat Trabelsi, Galit Cahlon
Written byKeren Shayo
Music byYosef Babliki
CinematographyDaniel Kedem
Edited byAyal Goldberg
Production
company
Trabelsi Productions
Distributed byFirst Hand Films (Israel), Women Make Movies (USA)
Release date
  • November 21, 2013 (2013-11-21)
Running time
60 minutes
CountryIsrael, Egypt, Sweden
LanguageHebrew, Tigrinya, Arabic Subtitles in English

Synopsis

The film Sound of Torture chronicles Meron Estafanos’ journey with the families of those who have been kidnapped, tortured, and raped by Bedouin smugglers in the Sinai Desert.[1] Those held captive are brought to torture camps and given cell phones to call their families and beg for ransom for their release.[2][3] The amount of ransom money demanded by the traffickers ranges from $15,000-$40,000 American dollars.[3] Estefanos broadcasts her weekly radio program “Voices of Eritrean Refugees” out of her home in Stockholm, Sweden where she dedicates the show to reporting on the refugee kidnappings in Sinai.[4] During the broadcast she reads the names of recently kidnapped victims and gives updates and advice to Eritrean listeners. The film shows Estefanos’ attempts to communicate with hostages and the kidnappers as she then airs their phone conversations during her broadcasts so the audience can bear witness the torture being inflicted.[5][6] Sound of Torture follows two specific cases which takes Estafanos to Sinai where she witnesses first-hand the stories of those who have been tortured and to Tel Aviv where she finally meets the Sudanese refugees who she has kept in contact with.[5]

Production

Keren Shayo chose to make this film due to the lack of media coverage and political discussion on this topic.[7][8] Shayo's main goal for this film was to raise global awareness surrounding the situations Eritreans undergo when attempting to seek asylum.[7][8][9] Shayo's previous work with migrants and refugees brought together her and Estafanos to create Sound of Torture.[7]

Background

About 3,000 Eritreans a month flee the dictatorship of Isaias Afwerki and the one-party state of Eritrea where indefinite military service and forced labor is required of all Eritreans from the age of 18 to 55.[1][6][10] Eritrea is considered one of the most surveilled countries in the world with no independent media and no public internet service.[10] Afwerki has been the country's only president since Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopian rule in 1991.[10] The United Nations has described the kidnappings and human trafficking in Sinai as one of the most under-reported humanitarian crises in the world while the government of Eritrea’s human rights record is considered among the worst in the world.[11] After Europe closed its borders in 2006, the only option for Eritreans fleeing their country towards Israel is across the Sinai desert in Egypt.[1][8] Critics explain that those fleeing Eritrea are looking for better opportunities in Israel away from their repressive government, conditions of poverty, and prolonged incarceration and military service.[12] It has been reported that people of the Rashaida Tribe, Eritreans, and Sudanese soldiers are all involved in the trafficking of Eritreans to Israel.[2][4] Many Eritreans pay traffickers to transport them to the Israeli border but are instead held hostage by those they paid and sold to gangs in Sinai where they are tortured and held for ransom.[2][3] These strategically organized kidnapping are known as the refugee kidnappings in Sinai.

Festival screenings
  • Israel Film Festival (Los Angeles)[13]
  • International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam[14]
  • Gothenburg Film Festival (Sweden)
  • One World (Prague)[15]
  • International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (Geneva)[16]
  • Movies that Matter (Netherlands)[17]
  • Docaviv (Telaviv)[18]
  • Mexico International Film Festival[19]
  • Sguardi Altove Film Festival (Italy)[20]
  • Münchn Komitee Human Rights Watch (Germany)[21]
  • Bergen International Film Festival (Norway)[22]
  • Mediteran Film Festival (Bosnia)[23]
  • Prix Europa (Berlin)[24]
  • Verzio International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival (Budapest)[25]
  • Amnesty International Documentary Film Festival (Hong Kong)
  • Warsaw Jewish Film Festival (Poland)[26]
  • UK Jewish Film Festival (London)[27]
  • International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (India)[28]

Broadcasts

Accolades
  • 2014: Best Short Documentary Film at the Ophir Awards
  • 2014: Best Debut Film at the Docaviv Film Festival
  • 2014: Special Mention Award at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights
  • 2014: VARA Audience Award at the Movies that Matter Festival
  • 2014: Best Intercultural TV Programme at Prix Europa

References
  1. Drucker, Jacob (2013). "Strangers in the Promise Land". Harvard Political Review. 40 (3): 29–31.
  2. Sherwood, Harriet (February 11, 2014). "Hundreds of Eritreans enslaved in torture camps in Sudan and Egypt".
  3. Harris, Katie (June 2013). "Free the Eritrean Captives". New Internationalist (463): 10. ISSN 0305-9529.
  4. Naib, Fatma (December 10, 2014). "Q&A: Eritreans escape to torturous Sinai". Al Jazeera.
  5. DeFore, John (September 26, 2014). "'The Sound of Torture': Bergen Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  6. Martinez Standring, Suzette (March 13, 2014). "Close the Torture Houses in North Sinai and Egypt". Asmarino Independent.
  7. Stein, Alyssa (September 23, 2014). "Human Trafficking: The Sinai Phenomenon". World Policy.
  8. "Sound of Torture". Al Jazeera Witness. March 18, 2015.
  9. Schlesinger, Liat (June 13, 2014). "Sinai torture industry captured in haunting new documentary". HAARETZ.
  10. Naib, Fatma (October 3, 2014). "Escaping Eritrea's 'open prison'". Al Jazeera (Qatar).
  11. Thomson, Mike (March 6, 2013). "Sinai torture for Eritreans kidnapped by traffickers". BBC News.
  12. Simpson, Gerald (February 2014). I Wanted to Lie Down and Die (PDF). p. 16. ISBN 978-1-62313-0978.
  13. "Israel Film Festival: October 23 - November 6, 2014 - Los Angeles". May 30, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-05-30.
  14. http://www.idfa.nl/industry/tags/project.aspx?id=e7746141-fc6e-488c-af3f-49c601d94baf
  15. "One World 2020". One World 2020.
  16. http://www.fifdh.org/2014/index.php?rubID=17&lan=en&filmID=318
  17. "Film Engels - Sound of Torture - Movies that Matter Film Festival". www.moviesthatmatter.nl.
  18. "Sound Of Torture | Docaviv 2014". www.docaviv.co.il.
  19. http://www.mexicofilmfestival.com/2014-winners
  20. http://www.israelfilmcenter.org/israeli-film-database/films/sound-of-torture/awards/sguardi-altrove-international-women-film-festival
  21. "Kostenlos Ficken Mit Sexy Shemales Mit Großen 20cm Schwanz Ohne Pößmoos Ladyboys Thailand Porno Chatrooms Um Singles Kennenzulernen Spionage Cam Nackt Porno Lesibes". www.bestdoks.de.
  22. "Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF) 2014". letterboxd.com.
  23. "Mediteran Film Festival". mff.ba.
  24. "PRIX EUROPA – Winners 2015". April 23, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-04-23.
  25. "Sound of Torture". www.verzio.org.
  26. http://www.wjff.pl/en/2014/films/competition
  27. "Sound of Torture". UK Jewish Film.
  28. http://www.iffk.in/idsffk/international_2014.php
  29. "AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange | Sound of Torture | Season 7 | Episode 3" – via www.pbs.org.
  30. "This Call May Be Recorded... To Save Your Life". This American Life. August 9, 2013.
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