UNHCR | TERRAN

OBJECTIVE

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, protects and supports people displaced by conflict, persecution, or disaster. For this project, we were asked to raise awareness around a subject that remains largely invisible: statelessness.

To be stateless is to live in the shadows of society, present, yet unseen. In Sweden, around 25,000 people live without the protection or recognition of any nationality. Statelessness is not just a legal definition; it is a human rights challenge that shapes lives in profound and personal ways.

Through films and portraits, our goal is to shed light on these untold stories and bring the issue closer to public consciousness.

CLIENT

UNHCR

TEAM

Producer: Johan Selin

DOPs: Troels Jensen, Johan Selin & Taavi Zbanski

Stills: Kegen Lorentzon

Editing: TERRAN STUDIO

THE SOLUTION

This video series brings forward three individuals from different countries, each sharing their journey. Their voices were captured through still images and short-format films, each one anchored by a personal letter written and narrated by the individuals. These letters serve as intimate testimonies of what it means to live without a state, revealing the emotional weight behind an often overlooked status.

Stateless people in Sweden

21'037

Numbers of passports

Terran led the project, weaving together the creative vision and the production process: bringing on board local photographers and filmmakers from the three selected countries, guiding the storytelling, and ensuring the material came together into a cohesive whole. The result is a collection of stories that not only document but also humanize a reality too often hidden in silence.