Several years ago, Amin Nawabi sat for a series of interviews with friend and filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen with a caveat: in telling his story, his identity would remain private to the world, freeing him to speak openly about his harrowing experiences as a child refugee escaping war-torn Afghanistan in the 1990s.
His stories were powerful, humorous, painful and complex, and in the course of confronting the past Nawabi revealed a secret he'd held close for decades. Rendering interview footage and his subject's memories in animated form, Rasmussen transformed Nawabi's gripping personal saga into the critically acclaimed film "Flee," a historic triple nominee at the 94th Academy Awards, where it is the first feature to vie in documentary, animation and international categories.
But despite putting a face to the often abstract refugee experience, Nawabi — who appears in the film under a pseudonym — has maintained his identity and his privacy, forgoing media appearances and interviews about the film. Until now.
