The Valley

In the French Alps, on the border between Italy and France, migrants fleeing war, political persecution and poverty risk their lives in the hope of a better life. Witnessing the migrants' suffering and dismay, the local population of the Roya Valley has taken action to provide them with shelter, food and legal counselling. Nonetheless, in France, the transporting or hosting of undocumented migrants is a criminal offense, and the locals soon find themselves on the wrong side of the law. So far, nine people from Roya are facing criminal charges, but with the support of lawyers they discover that the local authorities are in fact violating their own laws. Nuno Escudeiro documents the personal stories of common women and men who are fighting to keep a sense of morality and who have become committed to reshaping their own nation's laws by engaging in civil disobedience.