At Home in the World

In the schoolyard, Magomed quietly watches from the sidelines as his classmates fight over the soccer ball. The shy, pensive boy is no different in the classroom, where he studies Danish with full concentration. The 10-year-old Chechnyan refugee and his fellow classmates at the Red Cross school in the Danish town of Lynge are hoping to get a residence permit. This observational, poetic documentary follows Magomed’s class as they sing, do arts and crafts, play and argue, just like kids do at any other school. The difference is that these children all bear their own painful memories. Among them is Ali from Afghanistan, who, like his traumatized father, is plagued by nightmares. There’s restless Amel, who misses his friends back in Bosnia, and a Chechnyan named Heda who’s preparing for the exciting transition into a regular school with the help of her dedicated teacher. This same teacher believes that Magomed is very bright and is ready to take that step as well, but Magomed is hesitant. A conversation between the teacher and his father reveals that the boy isn’t only haunted by a traumatic memory, but also faces the frightening prospect of his dad not being able to stay in Denmark.