Keswick Film Festival

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In partnership with Keswick Peace and Human Rights Group (KP&HRG)

This film is the disturbing story of what happens to children when they seek asylum in Britain. Every year, thousands of children come from all over the world to Britain seeking refuge from persecution, terrorism and war. But many find this country is not the place of safety that they hoped. Instead they are met by a culture of disbelief and an asylum system that can cause them profound psychological and physical harm. Through the stories of a 10-year-old Iranian boy, a 16-year-old Afghan and a 22-year-old Ugandan woman, this film explores the experiences of young people who have been brutalized by the British asylum system. It's a shocking story. It was first shown on Channel Four Dispatches on Monday 29th November 2010.

With Q&A with Clare Sambrook and Rachel Seifert

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In partnership with Keswick Peace and Human Rights Group (KP&HRG)

Gulistan (Senay Orak) and her younger brother, Firat (Muhammed Al), have a normal childhood with their mom (Fahriye Celik) and dad (Alisan Onlu) and new baby brother. Dad is a Kurdish journalist; on their way back from a wedding, the family is stopped by three gunmen, who shoot the parents dead in front of the kids. The kids' aunt Yekbun (Berivan Eminoglu), an underground Kurdish activist, moves in to care for them, but as she tries to get a visa to take them to their grandpa in Sweden, she's kidnapped by the paramilitary police and the children are left completely alone. As the weeks pass, they start selling everything in the apartment just to have food to eat, but it's not enough for medicine for the baby. Their life gets harder as they struggle to survive.

In the days that follow, the paths of the two children, along with those of Dilara and Nuri, will all intersect in ways that have surprising impact due to the unexpected restraint with which their roles are played.

The film has won awards at 10 international festivals