An emotional Australian film about a refugee who is denied asylum has just been shortlisted for the ReelOzInd! Film Festival.
La Tansouna (Don’t Forget Us) has been shortlisted in the Fiction category at this year’s ReelOzInd!. Written and directed by Sarah Ghassali, the English/Arabic film follows Nour, a newly-arrived refugee who’s seeking asylum in Australia, hoping to escape persecution to live his life freely on safer lands.
The sincere drama brings to the screen the real journey that millions of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers undergo each year in order to exercise their human right to seek asylum.
Established in 2016, ReelOzInd! offers a wonderful platform for Australians and Indonesians tell the stories that matter to them. It’s also an opportunity for Australians and Indonesians, although they are close neighbours, to get to know each other better. ReelOzInd! has reached over 80 communities in both countries with a live audience of thousands and an ever-growing audience. The 2021 Festival launches on October 10th and runs until December 1st.
Ghassali shared her vision for the project: “Our Swinburne University 16mm film, led by a passionate team of emerging women and non-binary filmmakers of all walks of life, is a social comment on our expectations of community assimilation and the harsh realities behind systematic immigration,” she said.
“As myself and Mark Anton are Syrian migrants, we collaborated on the script to create an authentic, un-dramatised reflection through Nour, and all those who came – and come – before him.”
The fate of La Tansouna is now in the hands of the ReelOzInd! 2021 Jury, including actress Asmara Abigail, dancer Juliet Burnett, and journalist Brigid Delaney.
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Check out the trailer for the 2021 ReelOzInd! Short Film Competition:
