Nowhere in Africa, which won an Oscar this year for Best Foreign Film and five Lolas (German Film awards), including Best Feature, Best Director and Best Cinematography, is the Bermuda Film Festival's August Film Night selection.

Written and directed by Caroline Link, Nowhere in Africa will screen on Thursday, August 21 at 7.30 p.m. at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute auditorium.

Nowhere in Africa is adapted from the autobiographical novel, a bestseller in Germany, written by Stefanie Zweig about fleeing to Kenya with her parents to escape the Nazis in 1938.

More than another film on the subject of Jewish persecution, Nowhere in Africa is about a family ripped from its roots and growing again in a `nowhereland' empty of cultural references.

"This is a striking narrative about family, culture, displacement and belonging," says Film Series director Clare Wood.

"We are most grateful to Zeitgeist Films for granting us permission to screen it."

The film opens by cutting between Kenya, where husband Walter is suffering malaria and in the care of his Kenyan cook Owuor, and Germany where wife Jettel is preparing to join him with their five-year-old daughter, Regina, despite her family's conviction that "this will all be over in a year".

Arriving in Nairobi, the audience is swept into the wilderness alongside Regina and experiences her wonder as the exhilarating vistas of Kenya come alive.

Settling into a new life that is far removed from their previous upper-middle-class existence, the Redlich family endures major adjustments. Walter, once a prominent lawyer, scrapes by as a farm manager. He struggles with his resentment towards Germany and loss of his profession.

Jettel bitterly unpacks her fine china and glassware for what she thinks is a short stay; she is spoiled but tough. Throughout the film, which spans almost a decade, the experiences and attitudes of Jettel and Walter undergo radical shifts.

Their tumultuous and difficult relationship often defies the deep connection between the two.

In contrast, young Regina (played brilliantly by Lea Kurka and, when older, by Karoline Eckertz) forms relationships with native Kenyans and becomes integrated with their culture.

As portrayed by writer/director Link, the journey of each person in becoming accustomed to his or her new situation is that individual's responsibility. And throughout their tribulations, Regina offers an entirely different vision of belonging than her parents' yearning for their homeland can comprehend.

Tickets to BIFF Film Nights are $5 for BIFF Film Club members and $8 for non-members. Filmgoers can reserve tickets by e-mailing BIFF at bdafilmibl.bm or by calling the BIFF office at 295-3456. Tickets can be picked up at the BUEI from 6.30 p.m. on the evening of the screening.