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Described as “the film the Australian Government doesn’t want you to see”, the official trailer for “Chasing Asylum” has been released.
From Academy Award® winning Eva Orner (producer TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE) comes the documentary CHASING ASYLUM. Featuring never before seen footage from inside Australia’s offshore detention camps, the film reveals the personal impact of sending those in search of a safe home to languish in limbo.
CHASING ASYLUM puts a human face to the government’s offshore detention policies by presenting the raw personal stories of people seeking asylum who have been sent to live indefinitely on Manus Island and Nauru.
Director Eva Orner says of the film:
“Living in the USA for much of the past decade, I watched with increasing sadness as the Australia I know and love was dragged into a climate of fear by successive governments determined to convince us of the dangers of boat people. I really hope that CHASING ASYLUM informs and engages Australians to think more openly about the individual experiences of displaced people seeking a safer life.”
The film includes confronting and moving insights from individuals the Australian government wish to silence – people who have worked on Manus Island and Nauru -including security guards, social workers and interpreters. Their shocking accounts of daily life in the detention centres underscore the gravity of Australia’s policies.
The second day of a three day boat journey from Indonesia to the Australian territory of Christmas Island. On the deck of a 30-foot long boat that has two Indonesian crew, 55 Iranian asylum seekers, and one Afghan on board.
Photo: Joël van Houdt for The New York Times
