User Reviews

As a cinephile but a novice in the documentary genre, I came into this movie knowing little of what to expect. What i found was a film which was very clearly made with much passion. The film sets out to criticize the Australian refugee policies as people seek to immigrate there from various countries. These people are unaware that Australia is far from the accepting and liberal environment in which they thought, and are met with government workers who send them to detention centers. Refugees are currently a rather hot topic, and I was worried that I would learn little from this film that i hadn't already read, heard on the news, or consumed elsewhere. Fortunately i found that the film was focused on the life within the detention center which i knew nothing of and found the experience relatively original and quite emotionally draining. Looking around the theatre at TIFF it wasn't uncommon to see tear's being shed at the emotional moments of the film; moment which to my surprise, i didn't find overly melodramatic. They felt real. When the film zero's in upon the specific affects which these detention centre's have, such as extreme depression and self harm, the film was quite captivating, and even surprising at time. The extent of these psychological impacts can be quite brutal and the way they are easily dismissed by the Australian politician's is very interesting. A great interview with the late former Prime Minister of Australia was a specific highlight. The film may have slight flaws however. Many interviews with Australian politician's are cut short, feeling as if the documentary didn't really want you to know everything they had to say. The scenes interviewing parents of victims who died feel too long. They have little of interest to say, although a more sentimental man than myself may disagree. The film also ends with a grand list of people who refused to be interviewed. Its simply unfortunate that their opinions can not be explored. Some Michael Moore style showing up at their door would have been intriguing. These complaints mean little however for the interviews which were shared on camera were very meaningful in their own way. I truly hope this documentary can stir up some extra controversy around this topic for change really needs to happen.

This film shows first-hand the conditions and treatment of people, including children, being kept in indefinite detention for doing nothing wrong or illegal. All refugees have the right to seek asylum in any signatory country to the 1951 Convention on Refugees, yet Australia breaks the law, and denies these people their human rights, purely to set an "example" to others who might want to try to come to Australia by sea.

Journalists are banned from these detention camps, and seeing this film, you know why! When people see how these refugees are being abused, they will feel sickened and furious. This film is not melodramatic, or biased: it presents what is happening clearly and honestly, and shows the depths that governments will go to to try to win votes.

Anyone who thinks they are a human being should see this film!

As an Australian I am disgraced and disgusted in my government. I have always advocated for better treatment of refugees and acceptance of asylum seekers but majority of Australians want to bury their heads in the sand and listen instead to our money hungry, corrupt government. When will we wake up?

This is simply not a documentary but a propaganda piece by a group advocating open borders for Australia.

Most people in Australia, like most people in New Zealand, Canada, the US, and Europe not support open borders. So there are groups promoting economic immigrations making false claims of asylum in order to get around the laws.

If one has a problem with Australia's immigration laws, admit your goal, organize people to accept open borders, Do not organize and propagandize to create a gigantic lie about asylum.

If Australia simply opens its orders, the differentials in GDP will mean that three to five times the current population of the entire country will immigrate from China, S Asia and India in a matter of a couple of years. If you feel that should happen just say so.

I'm speechless trying to write this review. If you're an Australian, actually, if you're a human being, this is a must watch. It's difficult. My heart is literally breaking right now. We need another humanitarian like Malcolm Fraser to rise and make this horrible situation right.

It is Not the responsibility to of Australians to open their doors to third world refugees offering no education, language or work skills to contribute to Australia's economy!

Australians have their Sovereign Rights to Protect their Culture and History, to control how many, from where and when immigrants may come into their country. Europe is in shambles both politically and culturally due to irresponsible immigration policies based on (crack-pipe) Leftist social ideas having no basis in reality and lacking any sign of sensible political responsibility to their citizenship.

Terrible documentary film making. One sided and culturally disgraceful towards Pacific Islanders.

Incredibly manipulative. Depressing. I couldn't finish it, it was that bad.

My name is Martin Appleby, I appear in Eva's Doco on people Chasing Asylum, what I find the most disturbing, isn't the fact of what I witnessed, what I was order to do on behalf of the Australian Government.

But the fact the derogatory comments posted about this factually correct Doco, the insinuating comments of being one sided, the fact that the Australian Government, would not comment, and wished to ban this Doco, shows how the Gov( paid) commentators go out of their way to discredit all that it does not agree with!

And yes, I refused to shake Morrison's hand, when on the HMAS Choules.