Kay Pavlou

SYNOPSIS

After two years in Detention, Karim is granted refugee asylum. Elated, he rings his family in Afghanistan only to find his worst fears have come true.

OUTLINE

Karim wakes to the sound of a morning bird singing. He looks up through his window – through security bars and a razor wire fence - and smiles at the bird. He makes his single bed, sits and waits with frustration.

Karim is nervous as he faces his Immigration Case Worker. She rifles through his documentation and concludes that finally, after 2 years, Karim has proven his identity. Yes, in fact the Taliban killed his father and Karim has been tortured repeatedly. She is able to grant him a permanent Visa in Australia.

Elated, Karim runs back to his room to pack his few belongings. He rings his family in Afghanistan with the good news. He is devastated to hear that his worst fears have come true.

He is free, but is it too late…

STYLE

It’s a very emotional subject. I want to accentuate the raw emotion with our cinematic choices. Deeply affected by the Italian Neorealist films immediately World War 2, we will film INSIDE OUT in black and white, giving the subject extra poignancy and melancholy. Asylum detention centres are in actuality lit by fluorescent lights, like cafeterias. Black and white contrast lighting will embellish the banal atmosphere to match the emotional state of the refugee. 

PERSONAL MOTIVATION

I have become increasingly troubled by the way asylum seekers are being demonised and ill-treated in this country, so I am making a short film to highlight their point of view.

Attached to an advocacy group - Bridge for Asylum Seekers Foundation - I have been visiting people at Villawood Detention Centre. It breaks my heart to see young people spending years in detention feeling hopeless and worrying about their families back home.My film, INSIDE OUT, is based on a true story.

I come withmore than 20 years experience as a director and writer in both drama and documentary for film and television. I am passionate about making this film.

If you also feel passionate about the subject of asylum seekers, please come on board. My film will be attached to advocacy websites and so in addition to creating a story full of pathos it will also become a political tool. You can feel you have contributed to a very important struggle.

INSIDE OUT - TIME FRAME

We will film in mid January and complete post production in February 2013.

INSIDE OUT - THE TEAM

I have a fabulous team committed to the making of INSIDE OUT - DOP Greg Kung, sound recordist Leo Sullivan, First AD Dimitri Ellerington, mixer David White, composer Steve Fearnley, lead actor Firdaws Adelpour.