Dreams of deep in person debate on the back burner for now. Just hugely grateful for this opportunity for Silence Heard Loud opening the Human Rights Watch Festival this year at the Barbican. Great panel and albeit short, non the more powerful for it.
My huge thanks goes out to the students, (where can I even start?!) and the Higher Education Support Program at the Open Society Foundation, in particular Sonia Languille and Sebastian Scott who saw us through the devastation of COVID. The trust and faith in the project prevailed.
Synopsis
In Silence Heard Loud we meet seven individuals from six countries who journeyed to the UK in search of safety—fleeing from war, terrorism, ethnic hatred, persecution, and domestic violence. But the issues now facing Angela, Janahan, Merwa, Michael, Mohamed, Nirmala, and Selamawit are complex: endless asylum procedures with no permission to work, uncertainty about their futures, and the loneliness of longing for family and home. After many years of integrating into their new local communities and rebuilding their lives, their futures are still under threat. At any moment, the UK Home Office could force them to leave their lives and the relationships they have forged. This artfully crafted film is a reminder of the struggles facing members of our community, and the continued fight for refugees to find freedom and dignity as they navigate the British asylum system.
“I was always hoping for a world where everyone is a citizen of the world and appreciated for what they do and who they are.... [Yet] wherever I go they’re like: ‘This isn’t your home, you’re not our colour, you’re not our nationality, you’re not our culture.’” - Merwa Zen, Film Participant, Silence Heard Loud
Media Gallery
“Silence Heard Loud is authentic, personal and humanising - providing insight into the lives of the people it features, showing their everyday activities alongside their difficulties, and the human impact of immigration detention, racism, and exclusion.” — Emilie McDonnell, Advocacy Coordinator, Human Rights Watch
Last chance to see the full film version streaming tomorrow here
Blog post from Human Rights Watch here