Bangladesh is the eighth most populous country in the world and approximately the size of New York State. With its high population density, low sea level, and torrential monsoon season, it is ground zero for the climate refugee crisis where in recent years over 10 million people have fled to the higher ground of its megacity capital of Dhaka.
In one of the country’s low-lying coastal areas along the Brahmaputra River, a 12-year-old orphan girl named Afrin lives on a flood-ravaged island without electricity. Her relatives want to marry her off, which is illegal though common practice, but Afrin is not like other young girls, she has plans and a mind of her own. When her house is submerged by floods, she decides to leave behind the only world she has ever known and undertake a treacherous solo boat journey to find the father she has never met - in one of most densely populated cities in the world.
In Dhaka, a city on the brink and overflowing with danger and mystery, Afrin faces the impossible, but she befriends a group of fellow orphans and never lets go of the hope of reuniting with her father and a better life for herself.
“MIGHTY AFRIN: In The Time of Floods” by acclaimed filmmaker Angelos Rallis (Kani Shingal?) goes beyond the headlines of the climate crisis to tell an epic female coming-of-age story of resilience and survival. Through an immersive and collaborative cinematic approach, Rallis is able to bring us close up to Afrin’s emotional quest and witness her incredible resourcefulness, sense of humor, and heroic determination in the face of humanity’s greatest existential threat.