Jonathan Millet

Biography

French documentarian Jonathan Millet was awarded the French-American Foundation’s 2014 Immigration Journalism Award Prix TF1 for the documentary “Ceuta, Douce Prison” at a ceremony on December 9, 2014 in New York.
The moving documentary film, co-directed by Millet and Loïc H. Rechi, follows the trajectories of five migrants who leave everything to try their luck in Europe and end up in an open-air prison in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in northern Morocco.
The viewer is immersed in this prison, alongside Iqbal, Marius, Simon, Guy and Nür, and discovers their daily lives, their doubts and hopes, and their dreams of reaching Europe, so close and yet so far away. He then joined the Foundation to tell us more about his work.

Jonathan Millet was born in Paris, France.
For many years, he filmed and documented distant or inaccessible countries (Iran, Sudan, Colombia, Pakistan …) gathering hundreds of hours of footage. He now produces short films and documentaries. His last film, the feature documentary “Ceuta, douce prison” was released in theatres on January 29, 2014, after being selected in over 40 festivals.

Interview

Tell us about the film, “Ceuta, Douce Prison,” for which you were awarded the 2014 Immigration Journalism Award.

What inspired you to do this film?

Have you heard from the characters who are featured in this film. What is their status?

You’ve traveled with this documentary and shown it to many audiences. What has been the response?

What can we expect next from you? 

What was your reaction to winning the Immigration Journalism Award? How does the Award contribute to journalism and the storytelling of migration?