Sherine Salama

From acclaimed filmmaker Sherine Salama, the story follows a marriage between an American-based Palestinian man (Bassam Abed) and a young woman (Mariam), with a traditional village upbringing. Bassam works as a telephone repairman in Cleveland, Ohio, and returns to the West Bank town of Ramallah to find a wife. A few weeks later the two are married and we are offered unique insight into the arranged wedding. The film subsequently follows their desperate attempts to secure a visa to America for Mariam, and her resulting life in Cleveland, languishing in an apartment with no friends or support.

Stevan Arbutina, a Serb, is married to Georgia, a Croatian. They are forced to immigrate to Australia after the devastating civil war in Yugoslavia makes it impossible for them to find peace and security in their old country. This compelling documentary traces the Arbutina family’s journey from Belgrade to Melbourne. Initially excited about arriving in a country fabled for prosperity and peace, the family soon discover that lack of employment opportunities and the barrier of language isolate them from the new world they have entered. By spending a year with the family, and by covering every aspect of the refugee process - arrival, social security, community services, learning to shop and travel - the filmmakers deliver an intimate and revealing portrait of the contemporary refugee experience; from the joy of survival to the depression arising from isolation and unemployment.