Aisha

Great movie to depict the situation in the direct provision centers in Ireland, and the way The asylum seekers applications are brutally refused despite the obvious dangers threatening them in their home country. The romance and connection happening on the side is also so beautiful. It shows the friendship and human connection regardless of race and status which so pure.

I also liked the scenes where it implied asking about someone's nationality is not appropriate since nobody wants to be judged based on their nationality if they come from a poor country.

I hope more and more people in Ireland watch this movie, and it helps to improve the situation of refugees in this country. I enjoyed this movie and totally recommend it.

Letitia Wright owns this film as Aisha, an immigrant from Nigeria seeking refuge in Ireland. The actress appears in almost every frame and her performance is worthy of an Oscar nomination.

Her father has been killed and she and her mother raped by vicious loan sharks and she is shown navigating the asylum system in Ireland. A security guard at a shelter befriends her and the young woman is moved from place to place as she must attend hearing after hearing, reciting her terrible story to a long line of unsympathetic paper pushers. I am sure that it is pretty much the same here in ther United States.

I hope that Aisha will be Ireland's entry for an Academy Award.

I went in blind to a screening of this film from a passing recommendation at Irish Film Festival London. Admittedly I was not expecting much from this film which has definitely worked to its advantage, giving it a favourable review.

Aisha is a girl who has been through the ropes. Bad luck, tragedy and mental scarring. While seeking refuge in Ireland, she befriends a security guard who shows her empathy. She lives under the threat of being exiled, interview after interview from the pencil pushers, with no end in sight.

The truths it shows about Ireland could never be more true, while the people of Ireland are selfless, the government itself is selfish. This juxtaposition is what most countries deal with. A decent watch if you are interested in current socio-political topics.

Letitia Wright is the unique selling point of Aisha. She gives a fantastic performance. Watch her body language, the things she doesn't say, it's all in her eyes. It's a beautiful measured performance. Josh O' Connor gives her good support, eventhough his character sometimes feels a bit too goog to be true. There could have been some more fleshing out there. The movie itself is a timely complaint about the insufferable way asylum seekers are treated by the system. Never a break, always a new form to be complied, a interview with friendly if slightly uninterested caseworkers to be taken. It's a dehumanising treatment. The cruelty seems to be the point. Director Frank Berry shows it all in long takes, documentary like hitting his point home.

As someone from Ireland this is an important movie. As someone who has lived abroad in China there were some things I could relate to. That feeling of being temporary, being defined by your country, constantly having to justify why you're there and being the minority. That on top of having to answer the same stupid questions. All these complaints are minor compared to how my country treats these asylum seekers. It's inhumane and disgusting to be trapped in this limbo where they say you have rights, but the smug people in control get to do whatever they want, move you, take you away from the life you're building even though want to work and contribute. These people flee from the threat of abuse, death, sexual exploitation. They have to escape quickly and the countries that take them in keep them waiting around for 6 years with limit freedom and ask why they don't have this imaginary paperwork that proves they went through these things. When refugees fled Germany and France during WW2 they weren't scrutinised like this and it makes no sense that you can't just live. There has to be a better system than this.