AISHA (2022)
Special Features: Video intro by director Frank Berry
Letitia Wright (BLACK PANTHER, SMALL AXE) and Josh O'Connor (THE CROWN, GOD'S OWN COUNTRY) shine in Irish director Frank Berry's (I USED TO LIVE HERE, MICHAEL INSIDE) poignant and maddening social realist drama about a tender friendship that blooms amid the labyrinthine structures of Ireland's immigration system. Aisha (Wright) is a young Nigerian woman seeking asylum in Ireland after fleeing her home following the murder of her father and brother. Living in a state-mandated residence home for asylum seekers near Dublin, Aisha is in limbo awaiting a decision on her application for international protection, lost in a maze of bureaucracy and watching helplessly as those around her live the same nightmare. With no one else to turn to, Aisha finds an unlikely friend in Conor (O'Connor), a security guard at the residence home with a troubled past of his own. Based on Berry's extensive research into Ireland's controversial Direct Provision system and focused on the strength and determination of its central protagonist, AISHA is both an intimate character study and a timely critique of bureaucratic systems which compound the trauma experienced by those seeking refuge. Winner, Audience Award, 2022 Cork International Film Festival. Official Selection, 2022 Tribeca and London film festivals, 2022 AFI European Union Film Showcase. DIR/SCR Frank Berry; PROD Tristan Orpen Lynch, Donna Eperon, Aoife O'Sullivan, Sam Bisbee. Ireland, 2022, color, 94 min. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Run Time: 94 Minutes
Opening Date: Saturday, March 04, 2023
Genre: Drama
