Asylum in Popular Culture
This section contains details of films, TV series, and books which give an insight into the journeys of asylum seekers and refugees.
Watch
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For Sama (Channel 4) – A documentary about the uprisings in Aleppo, Syria from the perspective of a young female journalist and mother.
Sitting In Limbo (BBC) – A drama inspired by the Windrush scandal. It offers a good insight into the asylum process and detention system.
Once Upon a Time in Iraq (BBC series) – Personal archives from civilians and soldiers from both sides of the conflict.
Born In Syria (Netflix) – ‘This intimate documentary follows a group of Syrian children refugees who narrowly escape a life of torment and integrate into a foreign land.’
Home (Channel 4) – A comedy series written by and starring Rufus Jones, that deftly gets to the essence of home and family through the eyes of Syrian asylum-seeker Sami.
His House – A horror film about a refugee couple who make a harrowing escape from war-torn South Sudan, and then struggle to adjust to their new life in an English town that has an evil lurking.
Fire at Sea (Amazon Prime and Curzon Home Cinema) – ‘Gianfranco Rosi’s incisive, poignant and deeply moving portrait of the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa – and the humanitarian crisis occurring in the seas around it – is both a masterly work of documentary filmmaking and a timely call for urgent action.’
Surviving to Thriving short films (YouTube) A playlist of 16 short films produced by young people about their experiences on issues such as loneliness, education, prejudice and no right to work. The videos are no longer five minutes long and provide an insight into young people’s experiences in the UK.
Read
The Girl from Aleppo is a book by Nujeen Mustafa. It’s an inspiring story about Nujeen, a teenager born with cerebral palsy, whose makes it through a harrowing journey from war-ravaged Syria to Germany in a wheelchair.
Tears of Salt is a book by Dr Pietro Bartolo. It details his experiences running a lone medical clinic on the island of Lampedusa, where hundreds of thousands of African and Middle Eastern refugees have travelled through in the hope of making a new life in Europe.
The Lightless Sky is a book by Gulwali Passarlay about his journey from Afghanistan to safety in the UK as an unaccompanied child refugee.
