You are my friend (2018)

Directed by: Peter Lataster, Petra Lataster-Czisch | 77 minutes | documentary

Uprooted and plunged into a strange world that they must learn to understand from scratch. That is the reality for migrant children in the Netherlands. Suddenly they find themselves in a foreign country whose language and customs they do not know. They are still young, so learning the language can go quickly. But it is a process they have to go through. The documentary ‘You are my friend’, by director couple Peter Lataster and Petra Lataster-Czisch, portrays this process well – in all its fits and starts, both the beautiful and the less beautiful moments – with an emotional portrait of a Macedonian boy named Industry.

Because Branche’s parents have found work in the Netherlands, the family moves to the Netherlands. Branche, who barely speaks Dutch, ends up in a special class for migrant children. Together with other children from countries such as Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan, he gradually learns Dutch. It is a difficult step: Branche finds herself in a strange environment full of different cultures, with a language that he finds difficult to follow. ‘You are my friend’ takes the fly on the wall approach: the camera follows Branche without commenting further. There are no interviews with parents or teachers, nor are there broader contexts beyond short pieces of information stating where Branche has ended up (for example, when he goes to a class with Dutch children).

‘You are my friend’ makes no social or political comment or judgement, and is mainly a portrait of a displaced boy who must quickly find his way and – by trial and error – makes great strides. We experience everything completely from the Branche perspective. He becomes friends with a Syrian classmate who soon disappears from the scene. The teacher says that they ‘have gone elsewhere’. The adult viewer immediately wonders whether they have been moved to another asylum seekers’ center, have been assigned a home or have had to leave the country again because of a rejected asylum application. But the Latasters deliberately don’t answer: this is Branche’s world, and all that matters is that his boyfriend is ‘gone’.

This basic approach is what makes ‘You’re my friend’ so strong. Amid fierce social discussions about refugees and migrant workers, the documentary strips the theme of all political frills and reduces it to the story of a child. It doesn’t matter what one thinks about it: the struggles and growth of Branche are human, inspiring and endearing. That makes ‘You are my friend’ a must for anyone interested in the subject.