Chasing Asylum Trailer (2016)

Trailer for Chasing Asylum.

Asylum-seekers from around the world continue to risk their lives by embarking on dangerous boat crossings in search of safe harbour. But what happens when the destination is as unwelcoming as the dangers left behind? Australia has implemented some of the harshest immigration laws in the world, and Eva Orner's unflinching new film exposes the impact of these policies, which see asylum-seekers detained in isolated island facilities and left in stateless limbo, sometimes for years. Shocking never-before-seen footage from inside the facilities, obtained by anonymous sources using hidden cameras, reveals the desperation and despair of the detainees, along with the feelings of powerlessness from those hired to oversee them. As reports of sexual and physical abuse surface, greater questions arise about a country whose leaders choose detention over compassion, and who deprive the desperate of their basic human rights.