See the real story that inspired the movie "The Terminal" by Steven Spielberg.

Explores the nature of personal identity in a globalized world. Shot in the off-the-cuff style it…approaches [the subject] as a metaphor for the state in which all immigrants exist, trapped between two countries and forever locked in transit. LA WEEKLY

Mehran Karemi Nasseri, who now goes by the name "Sir Alfred", has been living in the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. For the past twelve years he has been waiting for the document that would allow him to leave. Unlike the story that has been told in the world press of a man trapped in the underground terminals of an airport, dubbed the, "strangest case in immigration history", this documentary examines the life of a man whose only aspiration is to be somebody else.

Praise for Sir Alfred of Charles de Gaulle Airport

This is a carefully investigated documentary about a man who haslivedinanairport for 12 years…His story is that of unusual circumstances inwhichdisplacedpeoplefind themselves — circumstances in which claims and counter claims are hard to prove,rights and wrongs are difficult to establish, identitiesare confused, and individuals are lost. This is a film about displacement, identity, immigration, and individual choices. It is an excellent medium for generating class discussion.  — Ali Akbar Mahdi, Ohio Wesleyan University

This Iranian’s refusal to admit his roots, his total and utter loneliness, and his permanent yet transitory status as an inhabitant of the transparent, borderless and boundary-less space which is Charles de Gaulle Airport, make Sir Alfred a living symbol of the modern and global epidemic of displacement — of not being where you belong and not belonging to where you are. — Setareh Sabati, The Iranian Times

A film by Hamid Rahmanian and Melissa Hibbard
Edited by Hamid Rahmanian
Music by David Bergeaud & Hossein Alizadeh
Translations by Mary Hudson
Participants: Christian Bourguet, Dr. Philippe Bargain and Sir Alfre

Documentary, 28 minutes, 2001
Format: DVD, Region 1, NTSC
In English and Persian w/ English subtitles

Study Topics

Iran
Immigration Law
Psychology
Human Rights