A story of survival

‘This film is about a long struggle to expose and challenge a system which is designed to dehumanise people who flee dictatorship and war.’ Behrouz Boochani

Behrouz tells the story of award-winning Kurdish journalist and writer Behrouz Boochani. He fled the Iranian regime, seeking asylum in Australia in 2013, only to be exiled to the offshore immigration detention centre on Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea.

The documentary follows Behrouz as he navigates life in detention and leads the resistance to indefinite detention. And finally, his life in Christchurch, New Zealand as a free man, after being held for over six years by the Australian and PNG governments on Manus Island.

Following the screening, join us for an in-person discussion with Behrouz Boochani and Simon V Kurian (Director), moderated by Dr Sara Dehm.

Runtime: 90 minutes

View the trailer

Speakers

Behrouz Boochani is a Kurdish writer, journalist, scholar, cultural advocate and filmmaker. He was a writer for the Kurdish language magazine Werya and is Associate Professor in Social Sciences at UNSW. Behrouz’s book No Friend but the Mountains was written while in detention on his mobile phone. It has become one of the most celebrated books in Australia in recent times, winning the most prestigious literary award, the 2019 Victorian Prize for Literature in addition to the Nonfiction category.

Simon V Kurian is a film director, editor and director of photography. Simon currently makes feature documentaries including Behrouz and STOP THE BOAT which have been screened in cinemas across Australia. STOP THE BOAT has won several international best feature documentary awards and nominations and has been the official selection for 15 international film festivals. Simon studied film at the ArtCenter College of Design and made his first documentary, Shiva’s Disciples, narrated by Sir Richard Attenborough.

Dr Sara Dehm is Senior Lecturer at the UTS Faculty of Law. Sara's expertise is in the history and theory of international migration and refugee law, with a focus on the changing nature of contemporary border controls, racial exclusions and migrant resistances. She has published widely on topics relating to Australian refugee law and practice, including on state responsibility and wrongdoing; refugee externalisation and gender-based harms; and the denial of decent healthcare to refugees in Australian-run immigration prisons.

Event agenda

6.00pm: Doors open
6.10pm: Welcome and Acknowledgement
6.15pm: Commence screening
7.35pm: In-conversation with Behrouz and Simon (25-min)
8.00pm: Audience Q&A (10-min)
8.15pm: Event ends