NAAVIKARAN

The Welcome is a life-affirming collection of short films sharing stories that will transport you across countries, borders and oceans. Hear fresh voices and emerging Queensland artists from diverse backgrounds tell honest and authentic stories about migrant and refugee experiences and what it means to belong in Australia. The Welcome is an extension of La Boite’s critically acclaimed 2020 stage production, The Neighbourhood. This intimate storytelling experience was created by La Boite with Brisbane-based production company KIOSK and proudly supported by the Commonwealth Bank and Queensland Government. The Welcome screens across multiple digital platforms, in recognition and celebration of Queensland’s diverse communities.

Grieving the loss of her lover, a young woman is stranded in a relentless wilderness. In this place where memory and survival blur, she encounters a future version of herself living out of a rusted car, digging a grave in which to bury her younger self: a desperate ritual aimed at conjuring the presence of the lover she cannot release. As the two versions of herself battle for dominance, the woman is confronted with the choice to break free and move forward – or, by remaining bound to grief, to become as untamed and unforgiving as the landscape that surrounds her.