a short film about carelessness and a life of spent colour. 

directed by Ali Al Azeez

Sally and Abraham are a young couple, full of hope. Sally has come from her home country to live in suburban Sydney with Abraham. Taking a huge leap of faith, with the promise of love, they begin their life together.

As times presses on, with work, old habits and obligations, the couple begin to sleep walk through their lives. One day Sally awakes, startled, and discovers that all the colour has drained from their home.  They have become old. In a waking, melancholy dream, the couple stumble and try to repair the wreckage of carelessness.

This romantic film hits a nerve with many of us; recognising the easy slide into half-light when we take the promise of love for granted.

a video portraiture project of two women and their experience of making a new home in Australia

created by Elham BehinAein

“Fear of the future or feeling without safety makes you fragile I think… makes you break… When I arrived here, we feel the new feeling. It’s very, very important.” – Iman

Photographer Elham BehinAein, arrived in Australia two years ago, herself a refugee from Iran. With the support of CORE Community Services and networks in Fairfield, Elham began a process of reaching out to women, open to share their stories of migration and take part in portraiture sittings, in their homes and out in the streets. Many women were interested but only two were confident to create images for the public. Neli and Iman shared their very different experiences of home-making and belonging.

a one shot, twelve minute film about a day in the life of an Ahwazi asylum seeker family, surviving in Australia.

directed by Ali Mousawi

Mohamed is ten years old. Raghad, his sister, is eleven. They are Ahwazi asylum seekers, living with their father in Liverpool, Sydney. These children have grown up without their mother, brother or extended family who are all back in Iran. Since arriving by boat with their father seven years ago, they struggled to make a home however they can while fighting to unite their family.

We meet these young people on their way home from school. They are racing back to check on their father, who is gravely unwell. As the action unfolds, it is clear these children carry enormous responsibilities for their age, as interpreters and advocates for their family in a hostile, bureaucratic environment.

In a world where over 65 million displaced people are seeking a new life, free from war and persecution, these two pragmatic children are left in a small apartment, face-to-face with their fate.

directed by Daisy Montalvo

Josselyn moved to Australia from El Salvador in 2015 when she was 14 years old. In the chaos of huge, cultural change she loses the one thing that made her feel herself the most – dancing.

Set on the suburban streets of Mt Druitt, western Sydney, El Baile is a dance, cinematic poem about nostalgia and isolation. Josselyn once felt like a star in her home country and now, she feels stuck in her new reality. In the process of migration, she lost her passion and in turn, lost her happiness. With the help of someone she meets, she is able to return to her passion because they allowed her the space to be herself, without protest. El Baile highlights the importance of holding onto your cultural roots and passion, and society embracing acceptance for all people.

a short film about three friends.

directed by Samia Halabi

Three young people hold their friendship to their heart and share a strong bond. They don’t let anything, or anyone get in their way. They spend most of their time together and they tell each other everything. Here we meet them at Bents Basin, an ancient waterhole in Western Sydney, sitting by the river watching the sunset. They head back to the camp site and sit around the fireplace, telling each other stories of the past and remembering the first day they met.

Right here, right now, nothing else matters.

Mahdi has his arms around the two girls, as they laugh. The friends sit by the fire place talking about their home countries, the issues and what they miss, and why they had to flee, either with or without their family. Their friendship brings together their history of seeking asylum and migration from Afghanistan, Argentina and Lebanon.

This film is about the next generation of Australians, sharing friendship and solidarity.