On a Scottish isle, Limbo breaks the refugee movie mould
by Hilary Fox, The Associated Press
Posted Apr 30, 2021 5:22 am EDT
Last Updated Apr 30, 2021 at 5:28 am EDT
In this image made from video provided by Focus Features, Amir El-Masry, left, stars as Omar and Vikash Bhai stars as Farhad in director Ben Sharrock s “Limbo”, a film about refugees waiting on a remote Scottish island for residency. The film is based on writer Ben Sharrock’s own experience of studying and living in Arab countries, visiting refugee camps and rooted in the fact that asylum seekers are often sent to remote areas of northern European countries while they wait to hear their fate. (Focus Features via AP)
On a Scottish isle, Limbo breaks the refugee movie mold
HILARY FOX, Associated Press
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1of5In this image made from video provided by Focus Features, Amir El-Masry stars as Omar in director Ben Sharrock s “Limbo”, a film about refugees waiting on a remote Scottish island for residency. The film is based on writer Ben Sharrock’s own experience of studying and living in Arab countries, visiting refugee camps and rooted in the fact that asylum seekers are often sent to remote areas of northern European countries while they wait to hear their fate. (Saskia Coulson/Focus Features via AP)Saskia Coulson/APShow MoreShow Less
ComingSoon.net is excited to premiere an exclusive
Limbo clip from the comedic drama, which Focus Features releases in theaters today, April 30, 2021.
Written and directed by Ben Sharrock (
Pikadero),
Limbo is described as “is a wry and poignant observation of the refugee experience,” by its official synopsis. “Set on a fictional remote Scottish island where a group of new arrivals await the results of their asylum claims, it centers on Omar, a young Syrian musician who is burdened by his grandfather’s oud, which he has carried all the way from his homeland.” It was recently nominated for two British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards for Best British Film and Best Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.
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In March, U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel announced potential plans to send asylum seekers to processing centers farther afield the Isle of Man or even Gibraltar. The report also suggested using remote Scottish islands as a place to house refugees a recommendation that was immediately denounced by Scotland. It may sound equals parts inhumane and absurd to force refugees into isolation on an island, but that’s almost exactly the plot of Ben Sharrock’s second film, “Limbo.”
“It’s something I started five years ago and you think, ‘Is this going to be relevant?’” the writer-director says, speaking from Scotland over Zoom. “And here we are five years later and it’s as relevant as it has been. The concept for me from the beginning was knowing I was going to use absurdism and humor in the telling of the story about refugees. So the idea of sending asylum seekers to a remote Scottish island was really an absurdist concept, and now that’s potentially becom