Flee

Flee (2021) is a profoundly moving animated documentary directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen. It tells the true story of Ras, known under the alias Amin Nawabi—a man recalling his hazardous childhood escape from Afghanistan to Denmark. The film uses a blend of intimate rotoscope animation and archival footage to preserve his anonymity while vividly capturing the trauma, hope, and tension of refugee experience and queer identity. Financially, Flee was modestly successful. With a production budget of $3.4 million, it grossed around $712,000 worldwide—$339,754 domestically and approximately $371,922 internationally. Wikipedia+15Wikipedia+15IMDb+15 Though its theatrical run was limited, the film performed well across international festivals and on streaming platforms, aligning closely with expectations for an adult animated documentary. Vanity Fair+2Wikipedia+2Rotten Tomatoes+2 Critically, Flee earned universal acclaim. It holds a 98 % Rotten Tomatoes score and a Metacritic rating of 91, with many calling it one of the best-reviewed films of 2021. Its heartfelt storytelling, innovative format, and powerful representation of refugee and LGBTQ+ issues sparked broad conversations and emotional responses. Flee also made history across awards circuits. It won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary at Sundance, took home Best Feature at Annecy, and claimed the Annie for Best Animated Feature – Independent—becoming the first animated documentary to earn those distinctions. It also received five Oscar nominations, including Best Documentary Feature, Best International Feature (Denmark’s submission), and Best Animated Feature—the first film ever nominated in all three. It triumphed across critics’ awards, including the National Board of Review, New York film critics, and European Film Awards (sweeping both Documentary and Animated categories). The legacy of Flee lies in its trailblazing redefinition of documentary and animation. It showed that animation can carry the emotional weight and candor of live-action nonfiction. Its triple-Oscar nomination underscored how the film world is beginning to recognize animated documentaries as serious and impactful storytelling. Flee stands as a pivotal work—humanizing the refugee crisis, advocating for queer visibility, and expanding the boundaries of cinematic form.