TRANSIT EDEN – THE STRUGGLE OF EXILE

TRANSIT EDEN is an intimate, politically urgent documentary about life in exile – about the loss of homeland, identity, and belonging. For the Kurdish people, persecution has shaped generations, driving them from their communities and onto dangerous journeys in search of safety, always in transit.

In the Greek town of Lavrio, Kurdish refugees have run Europe’s only self-organized refugee camp for decades, guided by the principles of democratic self-governance, ecological coexistence, and gender equality. Within this collective, displacement is met with solidarity, creating a space where Kurdish refugees can regain a sense of agency, purpose, and community despite the hardships of life as a refugee. For many, it is a space where they can, for the first time, live their Kurdish identity freely. For Vedat, a journalist who fled political repression in Turkey, Lavrio is both a place of reporting and a return to his roots. Here, he meets Nizamettin who is stranded on his way to Paris to reunite with his children. As cancer cuts his journey short, the film bears witness to his final days. Though supported by the community, he remains haunted by what he longs for most: home.

Serif Cicek photos © Serif Cicek