The Impossible River Journey

Helge and Joseph are on their way down the mighty Orange river.

The Impossible River Journey
(In the shadows of Apartheid)
– new documentary in production by AMEHN production!

The adventurer Helge Hjelland has set out to cross the african continent by canoe.

Along his journey Helge picks up Joseph, a South Sudanese refugee without any identity papers. Together they become partners in this journey.

It is a film about the diverse meetings through the African continent. A portrait of the best and worst in human kind. And it is also a refugee story, set in a country still struggling with its heritage from apartheid.

Geography: Far up in the Drakensberg Mountains is the source of the longest river in South Africa, the powerful Orange River, which stretches through the desert and into the Atlantic Ocean in the west. Towards the east the Tugela River tumbles down the worlds second largest waterfall, the Tugela Falls, towards the crocodiles in the tropic forests underneath and into the Indian Ocean.

Together the two rivers divide the African continent with its spectacular beauty. But the rivers do not only offer a varied nature. They also run through the varied and complex heritage and culture of South Africa.

In this expedition Helge Hjelland will need all his social skills to navigate between the poor refugees whom escaped from white landlords in Lesotho, and the dominating white population in the Orange Free State.

The documentary film has been screened at:
Television:
TV2 in Norway.
DR in Denmark.
France 5 in France.
Kringvarp Føroya at Faroa Island.

Film Festivals:
Fjellfilm festivalen.
Bergen International Film Festival.
Winner of the WT Award at WT International Film Festival.
Honorable mention at The Norwegian Documentary Film Festival.
NaturVision Filmfestival.

Title: The Impossible River Journey
Type: Documentary mini-series and feature.
Director: Arild Mehn-Andersen
D.O.P: Helge Hjelland
Editor: Torkel Gjørv
Screenplay: Arild Mehn-Andersen
Composer: Eugene Guribye
Animations: New Man’s Land – Joel Toledo & Daniel Moreno
Color Grading & Mastering: Frø Film og Media – Paulo Chavarría
Sound: Pål Terje Nygård
Promotion and media: Monica Larsson
Producer: Arild Mehn-Andersen
Production company: AMEHN production

Country of origin: Norway
Length: 2*46 / 90 min.