‘Hostile’ by Sonita Gale
If anyone still needs to be convinced of the power of film, then watch ‘Hostile’, a feature documentary by Sonita Gale. Our VI Form students certainly felt the impact of this important film when we had the opportunity of a private screening this week. Filmmaker, Sonita Gale, attended the screening then stayed behind for a Q&A led by ex-student and Governor, Ahir Shah.
The film examines the far-reaching consequences of Theresa May’s 2012 Hostile Environment Policy, a set of administrative and legislative measures designed to make staying in the United Kingdom as difficult as possible for people without leave to remain.
The film spans an extremely broad canvas - it examines colonialism as the root of today’s immigration; the post-WW2 period of rebuilding Britain and establishing the NHS using the skills and hard work of immigrants; and it looks at more recent events leading to Brexit and the contemporary immigration debate. It weaves together the moving stories of victims of the Windrush scandal whose documentation got lost - understandably after 60 years of living in the UK but now designated ‘alien’ ; of NHS workers whose visa renewal requests, under the new legislation, were turned down; and the tireless work of communities, trying to plug the gaps where the government’s new rules have left so many vulnerable people desperately hungry.
The stories that Sonita tells in her film are bleak and yet her underlying message is one of hope - hope, she says, lies in all the people, especially young people, who watch the film and are inspired to engage in politics, to call out injustice and refuse to turn a blind eye.
To learn more about this documentary please visit: https://www.hostiledocumentary.com/