Earlier this year, Vice reported on a Majid Adin, a remarkable young animator and Iranian refugee with an inspiring story. First escaping to northern France and into the notorious refugee camp Calais (a/k/a, “The Jungle”), Adin would find himself in one of the most diverse and tumultuous bastions for expatriates from all over the world. French troops would disband the camp in October 2016 and, soon after, the animator’s life would be changed forever.
A fellow former refugee from Calais informed Adin of an online competition called “The Cut,” prompting contributors to convert a Sir Elton John song into a music video. Combining forces with director Stephen McNally as well as a producer acting as translator, Adin would turn “Rocket Man” into a beautifully dramatic animated narrative, embedded with the truth of his own experience throughout.
In the end, “Rocket Man” required almost twenty people to complete production, but would be among the three winning productions in the contest, which included contributors by more than 50 different countries. Since then, Majid has resided in England and hard at work, and this past August saw him create a new video for Mercury Prize-winning singer Nick Mulvey’s song “Myela.” With imagery and lyrics inspired by the refugee experience and a monochromatic visual theme, it’s nothing short of amazing:
Now, Adin’s thematically personal work is being directed to a specific charitable cause, the non-profit Help Refugees. The artist explains, “Help Refugees were such a support to me when I was in the Calais ‘jungle,’ so it has been an honor to work with them and Blinkink on a new short film called ‘The Journey.’”
Accompanying a campaign to raise money for the organization (with 100% of funds being donated), Adin is hoping that his new video will help spread awareness and inspire contributions.
You can watch the video below, and make donations directly at the campaign website.
