Documentary / poetic realism
4K-video (color, sound), 22:24 

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Sahil’s Words is a poetic documentary that explores migration, the learning of French, and solidarity through the story of an 18-year-old Afghan refugee living in a camp in Switzerland. As he learns French, he tries to rebuild his life. Alongside him, a retired man accompanies him. What begins as simple learning encounters gradually becomes a quiet relationship, woven between two generations and two worlds.

 

Despite his young age, Sahil begins teaching French to other young Afghan refugees in the camp. The words he receives become the words he passes on. Little by little, this modest learning space turns into a place of solidarity, mutual support, and everyday resistance.

 

Throughout the film, images of water, rivers, and shores appear in the background. In Arabic, Sahil means “shore” or “coast.” The search for a safe place, for a new beginning, thus resonates with the meaning of his name: the quest for a shore after a long crossing. Memories of Afghanistan, the long journey through several countries, and the fragile life in Switzerland merge like circles forming on the surface of water.

 

Sahil’s Words observes the experience of migration through silence, nature, and simple everyday gestures. The film reveals not only the struggle for survival, but also the quiet desire to open a path for others.

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For Sahil, words are not just words. They are a way of reaching his shore — and perhaps allowing others to reach theirs.