Matthew Casseljournalist & documentary filmmaker
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ICRC × NBC Left Field · 2019

The Missing

A five-episode series produced with the International Committee of the Red Cross and NBC Left Field. Directed by Matthew Cassel, the films were shot in five countries — Honduras, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Senegal, and Zimbabwe — and focus on the shattered lives of those left behind by people who disappeared on migration routes.

5 × ~12 minutes · 2019International Committee of the Red CrossNBC Left FieldRory Peck Award nominee

A series about absence

An unknown number of people go missing along migration routes year after year, with their locations never traced and their bodies never found. The five films seek to piece together each missing person's story through the words of loved ones left behind.

"Migration is one of the most important issues of our time, and I hope to show that through personal stories of those who've been affected most: families of the missing," said Cassel.

Director / Cinematographer / Producer
Matthew Cassel
Editor
Olivia Dehez
Series Producer
Ariel Rubin
Co-production
ICRC × NBC Left Field
Recognition
Rory Peck Award nomination, 2019

Episodes

I.

THE MISSING: Zimbabwe | She'd Never Leave Her Son Behind

A mother in rural Zimbabwe whose daughter left seeking a better life in South Africa, and was never heard from again.

Zimbabwe · NBC Left Field
II.

THE MISSING: Honduras | A Young Man Seeking the American Dream

A Honduran family searching for a son who set out for the United States, and was lost somewhere along the migrant trail north.

Honduras · NBC Left Field
III.

THE MISSING: Sri Lanka | A Family Fleeing on Boat to Australia

A Sri Lankan family pinning their hopes on relatives who boarded a boat for Australia and vanished into the Indian Ocean.

Sri Lanka · NBC Left Field
IV.

THE MISSING: Senegal | Young Man Vanishes on Journey to Spain

A Senegalese family waiting for word from a son who left for Spain in search of work, and was never heard from again.

Senegal · NBC Left Field
V.

THE MISSING: Lebanon | A Family Pinning Hopes on Boat to Europe

A family in Beirut who found tragedy on the waters of the Aegean Sea after relatives boarded a smuggler boat bound for Europe.

Lebanon · NBC Left Field