Meaningful Movies: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Overview

Asylum seekers, detained boats and detention centres are frequent news fodder; however, amid all the headlines, one thing is often missing: the views of refugees themselves. What pushes people to leave home? What do they leave behind? What do they fear? Why did they choose this path? And what does it take to turn someone into a 'boat person'?

They're just some of the questions filmmakers Jessie Taylor and Ali Reza Sadiqi asked when they decided to delve into the issue. In 2009, they travelled across Indonesia to meet with 250 people looking for a better life, with Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea the end result of their interviews.

They're also the questions you can find answers to at Meaningful Movies, Amnesty International's free monthly evening of cinema and conversation. Watching the documentary is just the beginning, with Rebecca Lim from Brisbane-based asylum seeker support agency the Romero Centre also on hand to chat through the topic. This isn't just a night of film watching — this is movie-going that matters.