[Source: Reuters]

With migrant arrivals once again surging in Italy, director Matteo Garrone has brought a film to Venice showing the perilous journey from Africa to Europe through the eyes of two naive, but plucky Senegalese teenagers.

“In these years we have got used to the idea that they are only numbers and we forget that behind these numbers there are people, there are families, there are dreams, there are souls,” Garrone told Reuters following the premiere of “Me Captain”.

“(The film) was born out the idea of wanting to change the point of view,” said Garrone, whose previous movies include the crime dramas “Gomorrah” and “Dogman”.

“Me Captain” follows the two Senegalese youths as they leave their poor, but loving homes and head across the Saharan desert, before finally reaching Libya, the launch pad for many crossings to Europe, where the duo hope to find wealth and fame.

It is a trip fraught with danger as they get caught by thugs in Libya, who exact a terrible price before they manage to reach the coast. But the odyssey also reveals their courage and their tenacity to overcome the trauma and move ahead.

“It is truly an epic journey, a coming-of-age story that starts in one way and arrives in another, a boy becomes a man,” said Garrone.

After seeking his stars in both Italy and France, Garrone eventually found his leads in Senegal, choosing non-professional actors Seydou Sarr and Moustapha Fall to play the protagonists.