Deportation Class (2016)

They come in the night, tear families from their sleep, give them just enough time to pack and put them on a plane: this is the role of the so-called 'transportation commandos' comprising police officers and immigration officials. Last year, over 22,000 failed asylum seekers were deported from Germany. The documentary DEPORTATION CLASS presents a comprehensive view of this state enforcement measure for the first time: from detailed planning in the office to night-time operations at asylum seeker accommodation blocks and the arrival of asylum seekers back in their respective homelands - and the question of what awaits them there. Following extensive research, the film crew led by Carsten Rau and Hauke Wendler were present at a collective deportation in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. A project favoured by Interior Minister Lorenz Caffier who was present in person at the deportations. Haunting, moving images unlike anything seen before, repeated week after week as hundreds of asylum seekers are flown out, mostly to the Balkans. Two years ago, Rau and Wendler documented how Germany reacted to these new arrivals in their hit film 'Willkommen auf Deutsch'. With DEPORTATION CLASS, they show where things lead as the mood shifts against the refugees. As more and more countries are declared to be 'safe countries of origin' and basic rights are restricted. The film depicts these 'returnees' as people with dignity and their own opinions.