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Harassed by police, stepped over by tourists, and in constant fear of deportation – such is the daily grind for the Senegalese migrants who scrape by selling trinkets at the Eiffel Tower. Their lives, so often overlooked or treated with contempt, are chronicled by the UK director Tal Amiran in his powerful, confronting short documentary Dafa Metti (Difficult). Amiran gives voice to these men to tell their own stories, revealing how conditions back home pushed them to make dangerous journeys to France, and how, even after arriving in one of the world’s wealthiest cities, their lives often become more precarious still. Amiran’s artful and humane portrait of life on the margins of Paris was celebrated on the film festival circuit in 2020, playing at the BFI London Film Festival and the AFI Docs documentary film festival, among others.
Director: Tal Amiran
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Wellbeing
Born in China, Zee seeks a gender-affirming life in the American Midwest
11 minutes
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Rituals and celebrations
A whale hunt is an act of prayer for an Inuit community north of the Arctic Circle
8 minutes
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Politics and government
How it looked to Afghan women to see the Taliban return to power
33 minutes
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Biography and memoir
Passed over as the first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight carved out an impressive second act
13 minutes
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The ancient world
The six priestesses who kept the flame of ancient Rome alight at risk of death
5 minutes
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Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes
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Architecture
West Africa was once an architectural laboratory. Is it time for a revival?
12 minutes
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Work
A Swedish expat in the Philippines wonders: what’s up with people sleeping at work?
14 minutes
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Art
‘If you’re creative, why can’t you create a solution?’ One artist’s imaginative activism
17 minutes