Generally, you don’t go into a film depicting the refugee experience and expect chuckles along the way – but with Ben Sharrock’s Limbo, you should. The British writer-director’s debut feature presents a deadpan take on the discomfort and awkwardness that comes with arriving in a completely new (and totally different) environment from where you’ve been – in this case, Amir El-Masry’s Syrian refugee Omar, who finds himself on a (fictional) Scottish island waiting to find out if his asylum claim has been approved. It’s a serious topic that Sharrock approaches with wry wit and beautifully-composed frames in a careful tonal balance – check it out in this exclusive first look at the film’s trailer:
Limbo is inspired by personal stories that Sharrock learned from a network of friends that he formed when he was working in refugee camps in Algeria and living in Damascus before the Syrian civil war broke out – and there are refugees living in Scotland who appear in supporting roles through the film. Also among the cast are Vikash Bhai, Ola Orebiyi, Kwabena Ansah, Sidse Babett Knudsen, and Kais Nashif.
Having picked up major acclaim across the festival circuit – it played at the London Film Festival, as well as Cannes and Toronto – Limbo also just bagged two BAFTA nominations for Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut. This one should definitely be on your radar – and you can catch it in UK and Irish cinemas wheni it’s released by Mubi on 30 July.