Drama

Aisha

Aisha, a young Nigerian woman seeking asylum in Ireland, is floundering in a maze of social services and bureaucracy. As her situation becomes increasingly dire, Aisha struggles to maintain hope and dignity against the looming threat of deportation.

Release Date : 2022-11-17

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : SuboticaBBC FilmFís Éireann/Screen IrelandWavelengthRTÉWorld of HA Productions

Production Country : Ireland

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Aisha Osagie

Original Name : Letitia Wright

Gender : Female

Character Name : Conor Healy

Original Name : Josh O'Connor

Gender : Male

Character Name : Peter Flood

Original Name : Lorcan Cranitch

Gender : Male

Character Name : Brendan Close

Original Name : Denis Conway

Gender : Male

Character Name : Francis Manning

Original Name : Stuart Graham

Gender : Male

Character Name : Liam Cantwell

Original Name : Ian Toner

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Keegan

Original Name : Ruth McCabe

Gender : Female

Character Name : Resident

Original Name : Pius Ojo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Michelle Campbell

Original Name : Dawn Bradfield

Gender : Female

Character Name : Deirdre O'Dea

Original Name : Theresa O'Connor

Gender : Male

Character Name : Moraya Osagie

Original Name : Rosemary Aimiyekagbon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Abdul Momoh

Original Name : Emmanuel Hassan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bes Emenaha

Original Name : Yemisi Ojo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Habiba Momoh

Original Name : Antoinette Doyle

Gender : Male

Character Name : Catherine Levy

Original Name : Tara Flynn

Gender : Female

Character Name : Ruykaya Momoh

Original Name : Florence Adebambo

Gender : Female

Character Name : Louise Sheeran

Original Name : Aisling Reid

Gender : Male

Character Name : Male Resident

Original Name : Lucky Aganmwonyi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Young Woman

Original Name : Anaïs Rizzo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sandra Hill

Original Name : Caitríona Ní Mhurchú

Gender : Female

Character Name : Christine Byrne

Original Name : Sharon Mannion

Gender : Male

Character Name : Teenage Resident

Original Name : Sheik Bah

Gender : Male

Character Name : Garda Quinn

Original Name : Orlaith Doherty

Gender : Female

Character Name : Garda McMahon

Original Name : Paul McGlinchey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Brian Belton

Original Name : Andy Kellegher

Gender : Male

Character Name : Young Neighbour

Original Name : Emmanuel Okoye

Gender : Male

Character Name : Garda Larkin

Original Name : Jerry Fitzgerald

Gender : Male

Character Name : Idara

Original Name : Thabile Michelle Hlongwane

Gender : Female

Character Name : Hassan Hassar

Original Name : Abdul Alshareef

Gender : Male

Character Name : Edouard Ashu

Original Name : Shashi Rami

Gender : Male

Character Name : Glentill security guard

Original Name : Derek Hannay

Gender : Male

Character Name : Eoin Close

Original Name : Emmet Byrne

Gender : Male

Character Name : Simon Farren

Original Name : Aron Hegarty

Gender : Male

Character Name : IPO Security Guard

Original Name : John Dalessandro

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ms Nolan

Original Name : Joanne Crawford

Gender : Female

Character Name : Patrick Turner

Original Name : Tim Creed

Gender : Male

Character Name : Person from IPAS

Original Name : Ger Duffy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mary Prender

Original Name : Geraldine McAlinden

Gender : Female

Character Name : Pawel

Original Name : Ignacy Rybarczyk

Gender : Male

Character Name : IPAT Security Guard

Original Name : Zeff Lawless

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kevin Farrelly

Original Name : Corey Millar

Gender : Male

Character Name : TM Sean Collins

Original Name : Paul Murphy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Welcome Rest Receptionist

Original Name : Bernadette Carty

Gender : Female

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-12-03

"Aisha" (Letitia Wright) has been seeking asylum in Ireland for some while when she encounters and builds a friendship with the security guard at her hostel. He, "Conor" (John O'Connor) has a bit of baggage of his own, and the two find a certain comfort in supporting each other as she is moved to a rural caravan park where she must continue her quest for residency. There's no doubt that both Wright and O'Connor deliver decent efforts here, but somehow the underlying story left me rather underwhelmed. Why Ireland? Is it just the most porous part of the EU? There is little context given as to that choice, and so when her struggles against the bureaucracy become more difficult, I felt that whilst I empathised with her predicament, I couldn't quite see why this was an Irish problem? The presentation of her as an asylum seeker is largely predicated on the skills of Wright as an engaging actor, rather than of any depth to her characterisation that could enable a neutral to make the judgements the film is clearly steering us to make. It all has a certain degree of entitlement to it, and the writer and director needed to work much harder to present the audience with a legitimacy to the story, not just to rely on an assumption that the innate kindness and sympathy we ought to feel would be forthcoming. This needed much more development and balance - those doing immigration management jobs portrayed here are usually shown as uncaring and unfeeling in an almost lazy fashion - and that compromises the whole integrity of the story. The complexities of this scenario are over-simplified here, and I think an opportunity to raise awareness of this - on both sides - has been largely missed.