RICH WEBB - LOVE SOMEONE
CREW
Directed and animated by Matthew Lawes-Wickwar
Produced by Other Brother Studios
Research Assistant Dominique Daeschner
Featuring Rich Webb
DOP in Australia Emma Webb
Shot in Australia, animated in England, this video is in response to the unlimited mandatory detention for asylum seekers and refugees travelling by boat to Australia, the only country in the world to have something so severe, and the Australian government's inhumane stance for over a decade, that "If you come to Australia by boat, you will never get to stay".
These facilities have been the source of much controversy, with accusations of human rights abuses from Amnesty International, the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations. Journalists are forbidden from entering the detention facilities. Reports of self harm and suicide are upsettingly frequent.
According to the latest government stats (30 Sept 2021), there are 1,459 people being held in mandatory detention facilities, and on average each has been there for 689 days.
The UK government has praised the Australian governments methods and has revealed proposals for offshore centres for asylum seekers. Now with an estimated 380,000 refugees leaving war torn Ukraine (as of 28th February 2022), and with a projected 5 million people to leave the country, more action than ever needs to be done to safeguard refugees.