When Paul Came Over The Sea

Paul Nkamani made his way from his home country of Cameroon through the Sahara to the coast of Morocco. Here Paul and filmmaker Jakob Preuss, who is on a research trip along Europe's external borders, get to know each other. Shortly afterwards, Paul gets a coveted place on a rubber dinghy to Europe, but the crossing takes a tragic turn: half of his fellow passengers die, Paul survives. The director sees the harrowing images of the rescue on television and sets out to find Paul. After Paul has already spent two months in custody pending deportation, Jakob finally finds him in a Spanish Red Cross shelter. When Paul decides to travel to Germany due to the economic crisis in Spain, Jakob has to decide: should he actively support Paul in his pursuit of a better life or remain in the role of the observing filmmaker? In Germany, the film was first shown in the Dok.Film competition at the Max Ophüls Festival in Saarbrücken in 2017.