Every Picture Tells a Story
When 13-year-old Somali-born Ali met the Spanish director Paula Palacios, he could not have imagined his story would have a happy ending. Ali had left his homeland seeking a better life in another country. But, finding himself detained in a refugee centre in Ukraine, his journey seemed to have reached a dead-end. That was where Paula, who was working on a documentary with the UNHCR, met him. She asked him to tell his own story, and approached Al Jazeera Documentary with a proposal to trace Ali’s journey over seven years. The resulting three-part series, ‘My Brother Ali’, followed him from Ukraine to Michigan in the US. Not only did Al Jazeera document Ali’s case, it also lent him a helping hand until he finally got legal status in the US, where he is now working as a cab driver. The series not only explores in-depth the plight of a single refugee, it also dissects the complicated aspects of the broader global phenomenon. As a result, it won a number of prestigious awards. Till this day, we are still in touch with Ali, who has become a part of the Al Jazeera Documentary family. Truly, behind every picture there is a story – or many.
Every Picture Tells a Story Adel Ksiksi | Planning Manager, Al Jazeera Documentary
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