Written and Directed by Ben Sharrock

Starring Sidse Babett Knudsen, Kenneth Collard, Amir El-Masry, Vikash Bhai and Ola Orebiyi

Picture this:

Separated from family, unsure if some of them are even safe; you find yourself living on an isolated island far from home. Nothing is familiar, everything is uncertain. You cannot work, you cannot help your family. All you can do is wait. But you have no idea how long you will be waiting. Days, months, years, who can say? You are in limbo.

This is the life of an Asylum Seeker awaiting processing.

We hear a lot of words and phrases bandied around when public discussion moves to the subject of refugees. Words like ‘queue-jumper’, ‘country shoppers’, ‘illegals’, all come to mind. But the reality is, people don’t flee in leaky, unsafe vessels if the land is safer.

Limbo follows the story of Omar, a talented oud player from Syria who has left his brother and parents behind to find a safer life in Scotland. It deals with themes of casual racism, microaggressions and unhelpful stereotyping.

We awkwardly watch as Omar silently endures the small-mindedness of the Scottish folk that surround him. We also see that much of this small-mindedness is not from a place of malice but from ignorance.

Limbo is stunningly shot on the Scottish isle of Uists. So lonely, vast and remote. A perfect backdrop to the isolating, lonesome journey of seeking asylum.

The film is layered with subtle complexity. There is sadness, grief, loneliness, joy, humour and perseverance. There is a certain beauty in the simplicity of its story.

This is an important film for us, ‘non-asylum seekers’ to emancipate ourselves from ignorance.

Limbo is showing in selected cinemas from January 13th.

Moviedoc thanks Madman for the screener link to watch and review this film.

Review by Jemma for Moviedoc

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