Filmmaker makes ‘In the Right Place’, a documentary film about SV Co-Founder

Dutch filmmaker Sam van Zoest has made a documentary about one of the founders of our organisation, Bogdan Andrei.

An SV alumnus himself, Sam met Bogdan when he first volunteered in March 2019. When Bogdan announced he would retire from full-time overseeing the NGO and move back to the mainland, Sam realised the tremendous obstacles that were awaiting Bogdan.

Bogdan had spent three and a half years on the island,” Sam recounts. "I was curious what this would to do a person. What would one’s life be like after returning home after such an extended period of volunteering in a migrant crisis environment?
Sam van Zoest

Together with his camera, Sam accompanied Bogdan on his journey to Germany, where his girlfriend lived. He also traveled along to subsequent visits back to the island. In total he followed the SV founder and director for two years.

The documentary focuses largely on the positive things of SV, the things that we all need to keep going: the community, the social aspect. And with Bogdan moving back to the mainland, he lost that. I found that fascinating. Here was a man with a giant heart, split in half.
Sam van Zoest