15 minutes that'll wreck your whole worldview about 'justice.'
Refuge(e) traces the incredible journey of two refugees, Alpha and Zeferino. Each fled violent threats to their lives in their home countries and presented themselves at the US border asking for political asylum, only to be incarcerated in a for-profit prison for months on end without having committed any crime. Thousands more like them can't tell their stories.
Direction
Johnson lets subjects speak, bureaucracy indicts itself.
Editing
Tight 15 minutes—no fat, all impact.
Director
Sylvia Johnson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The for-profit prison featured is part of CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corporation of America—one of the largest private prison operators with documented history of cutting costs at the expense of detainee health.
Released during the 2019 'Remain in Mexico' policy expansion, the short became a stealth activist tool screened at immigration rallies and law school classrooms.
US
