30/11/2012 - Asylum seeker drama stars Toby Jones

Acclaimed documentarian Bruce Goodison (Our War) has commenced principal photography at London locations for his feature debut, Leave To Remain. The script is the product of several years of research by Goodison on the lives of teenagers from across the world looking for asylum in the UK. Toby Jones (photo - Berberian Sound Studio) headlines the cast.

Goodison said, “Learning about these teenagers’ experiences for the first time, I struggled to contemplate how they could be cast away from everything familiar to them, plunged into an alien society and expected to build a life. I felt moved to tell their stories. By holding a mirror to the lives of these young people, I hope we can learn something about the country we call home.”

The Oak Foundation and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation are backing the film. Adrian Arena of the Oak Foundation said, “We funded Leave To Remain given our keen interest in detention and asylum and the film’s focus on minors. Given the potency of their narrative to promote substantive change and the filmmaker’s own prodigious reputation in tackling difficult subjects, the film should bring a complex issue to the attention of a wider public.”

The Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Rob Bell said, “We hope Leave To Remain will bring the stories of young people who come to the UK seeking sanctuary to a wide audience. We are concerned about all young people who find themselves unable to reach their potential, and without options to improve their lives. While we do not normally support filmmaking ventures, we believe that more needs to be done to address difficult issues in our society, and the arts is one important way of allowing the voices of marginalised people to be heard.”