The advocate for a young Iranian refugee held in detention. Amir Ali claims to be an Iranian student persecuted by the government but the Department of Immigration dispute his identity. When Julia meets Amir, he is severely depressed and close to deportation. Julia throws herself obsessively into Amir's case, causing friction between Julia and her husband, Peter. Julia eventually frees Amir and the young Iranian man moves in with Peter and Julia. As Julia helps Amir adjust to ordinary life, she finds herself increasingly attracted to this handsome, damaged young man. But she also starts to see the subtle cracks in Amir's story. Is he really who he claims he is? Or does he have a darker, more dangerous history?
Acting
Claudia Karvan's desperate, embarrassing need to be needed.
Writing
The script refuses to let Julia be heroic — deliciously uncomfortable.
Direction
Ayres keeps Amir's truth just out of frame, maddeningly.
Director
Tony Ayres
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during Australia's 'Pacific Solution' era, the film channels real detention scandals without becoming a polemic — the bureaucratic cruelty is almost mundane.
Osamah Sami, who plays Amir, co-wrote the 2017 film Ali's Wedding about his own Iranian-Australian experience — casting him subverts expectations of 'authentic' refugee representation.
US
AU
