Asylum Hearings as Performance: Performance of Asylum Hearings

A lecture by Prof Stephen Wilmer (TCD) as part of the School of Creative Arts Research Forum.

The intention of this presentation is to ask what we can learn from films about asylum procedures. Asylum hearings normally take place behind closed doors, but films and theatre performances have made the asylum process visible, allowing the public to view the roles that people play in court rooms and closed hearings and to see how governments renegotiate access to asylum. The paper will consider the Polish docudrama Green Border (2023) and the French fictional film L’Histoire de Souleymane (2024) that provide the general public with the opportunity to see the inside workings of the asylum process. They reveal the difficulties for the
refugees themselves and for those deciding such cases, and they question the extent to which the rights of asylum seekers are being upheld.

Please indicate if you have any access requirements, such as ISL/English interpreting, so that we can facilitate you in attending this event. Contact: Nicole.Grimes@tcd.ie