Movies: Asylum seekers

Refuge(e) traces the incredible journey of two refugees, Alpha and Zeferino. Each fled violent threats to their lives in their home countries and presented themselves at the US border asking for political asylum, only to be incarcerated in a for-prof...

“I want to be a tiger. I am an atheist from Iraq and I am seeking asylum. About my hallucinations… It’s difficult. Horrible monsters. I hope I can help those who need help.” An episode of the animation series Mental images by Antonia Ringbom. The aim...

Asylum is a poignant drama that unfolds the harrowing journey of Khadija Jallow and her daughter, Khawla, seeking asylum after a political coup in their home country, The Gambia. As Khadija recounts her story during an asylum interview, the narrative...

Follow the emotional journey of Hiba Noor, a talented artist forced to flee her home country, as she navigates a new life in London while awaiting her asylum fate. This film takes you on a journey into the production of MATAR, a short film about a fe...

Mirte is a cleaner in the reception centre for asylum seekers at the airport. She tries to forget her past through routine. When the charismatic West African Luc is brought in, Mirte seems to get a grip on her life again. A film about loss, fleeing a...

Four rejected asylum seekers relive the hearing on their reasons for fleeing their home countries, shedding light on the core of the asylum procedure. Will the interviewees be able to describe their traumatic experiences in a way that satisfies the o...

An urgent and powerful documentary, shot in a detention centre where asylum seekers trying to reach Australian shores are indefinitely detained. Secretly shot on a mobile phone by Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani while detained on Manus, in Papua ...

What does it mean to belong to a place, a country? In a south Tel Aviv elementary school, that question is addressed head-on by a fourth-grade class and their teacher. The children are asylum seekers whose families mostly do not have a legal status i...

A documentary film crew follows a young Iranian girl, Roya, after her request for asylum was denied and is forced to enter an illegal life on streets of Amsterdam. The film crew follows her from a distance trying not to intervene, no matter what occu...

Examines how the Immigration and Naturalization Service decides who will be granted asylum in the United States. The applicant must have a "well-founded fear" of persecution in his or her home country. Despite true and terrifying stories of torture a...

Documentary about asylum seekers in the Netherlands....

A talking heads documentary about young asylum seekers in the Netherlands, given space to express themselves through art. From poetry and rap to DJing and photography, it follows Auguste as he observes moments where language barriers are broken throu...

Mali - Algeria - Libya - Italy. Issa’s escape from West Africa to the European mainland lasted ten years. Everything was supposed to be better here. But when he arrived in Rome, the only thing waiting for the young man was a life of homelessness and ...

Matar Dia, from Senegal, is now a mediation agent in an asylum center in Paris. He loves to draw, that’s why he painted the walls of the laundromat where he works. He tells us about his story and some of the residents’ as he shows us his art....

One inside, one outside. One thin line that creates “us” and “them”. The importance of the borders has again a huge impact in Europe. Yesterday it was all about free movement. Today it´s about controled borders. And walls and fences have become norma...

Belgium is often seen as a safe haven for LGBTQ+ individuals, but many asylum seekers face discrimination and oppression upon arrival. An animated short highlights the challenges they encounter, including mistreatment and homelessness, during the len...