'Welcome' to my world

In countries such as Australia, issues concerning illegal immigration are easily kept from the public eye. Asylum seekers arrive on boats, only to be whisked away to detention centres on remote islands or in the middle of the desert. Although facts and figures do reach us via the media, we are not confronted with the issues on a physical, day-to-day basis. And so they remain aloft; figments of our imagination. But for many communities across the world, it is an entirely different story...

Phillipe Lioret's acclaimed film 'Welcome' was screened last week as part of the Galway Film Society's winter season. Set in the French coastal border town of Calais, 'Welcome' tells the story of Bilal, a young Kurdish refugee who joins the flock of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the English channel. After an attempt to be smuggled over in a truck goes horribly wrong, Bilal decides to learn how to swim and is taken under the wing of local swim instructor Simon. When Simon realises Bilal's real intent; to brave the freezing waters and swim across the English Channel; an unlikely friendship blossoms between them. As he is drawn deeper into Bilal's world, the many political and legal complications associated with helping illegal immigrants begin to emerge.

You really have to admire films which confront political ideologies with such force that they inspire debate, public pressure and ultimately the revision of political policy. 'Welcome' has done just that! Screening in France and across the world the film asks a powerful question; if all humans are equal, with the same hopes, dreams and desires, why are we living in such an unequal world? The scope of the film is impressive, giving voice not only to the immigrants, displaced and ignored, but also to local residents who fall victim to this forced inhumanity; forbidden by French law to help the hundreds of immigrants that inhabit their area.

Without going too much further into the film (as everyone should see it), it is a gripping story with strong motifs that explore notions of suffocation and futility, without leaving you drained of all hope for change.