Aisha main backdrop
Aisha main poster

6.1/10 • 21

2022-11-171h 34m

Drama

Aisha lives at a centre for asylum-seekers in Ireland in a state of ongoing uncertainty. Having fled Nigeria after a violent gang murdered members of her family, she is desperately trying to find some degree of permanency, where she and her mother can be reunited and live without fear. As she navigates the complex legal system to seek settlement in Ireland, she sparks an unlikely friendship with Conor, a new guard at the centre. A former prisoner, Conor’s life experience and calming presence resonate with Aisha, allowing for a tentative romance to begin. But the bond between the pair comes under strain as the threat of deportation looms ever larger.

Directors
Frank Berry
Writters
Frank Berry

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Letitia Wright

    Letitia Wright

    Aisha Osagie

  2. Josh O'Connor

    Josh O'Connor

    Conor Healy

  3. Lorcan Cranitch

    Lorcan Cranitch

    Peter Flood

  4. Denis Conway

    Denis Conway

    Brendan Close

  5. Stuart Graham

    Stuart Graham

    Francis Manning

  6. Ian Toner

    Ian Toner

    Liam Cantwell

  7. Ruth McCabe

    Ruth McCabe

    Mrs. Keegan

  8. Pius Ojo

    Pius Ojo

    Resident

  9. Dawn Bradfield

    Dawn Bradfield

    Michelle Campbell

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Dec 3, 2022

6/10

"Aisha" (Letitia Wright) has been seeking asylum in Ireland for some while when she encounters and builds a friendship with the security guard at her hostel. He, "Conor" (John O'Connor) has a bit of baggage of his own, and the two find a certain comfort in supporting each other as she is moved to a rural caravan park where she must continue her quest for residency. There's no doubt that both Wright and O'Connor deliver decent efforts here, but somehow the underlying story left me rather underwhelmed. Why Ireland? Is it just the most porous part of the EU? There is little context given as to that choice, and so when her struggles against the bureaucracy become more difficult, I felt that whilst I empathised with her predicament, I couldn't quite see why this was an Irish problem? The presentation of her as an asylum seeker is largely predicated on the skills of Wright as an engaging actor, rather than of any depth to her characterisation that could enable a neutral to make the judgements the film is clearly steering us to make. It all has a certain degree of entitlement to it, and the writer and director needed to work much harder to present the audience with a legitimacy to the story, not just to rely on an assumption that the innate kindness and sympathy we ought to feel would be forthcoming. This needed much more development and balance - those doing immigration management jobs portrayed here are usually shown as uncaring and unfeeling in an almost lazy fashion - and that compromises the whole integrity of the story. The complexities of this scenario are over-simplified here, and I think an opportunity to raise awareness of this - on both sides - has been largely missed.

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
asylum