As American missiles fell near Damascus in mid-April, you may have seen a number begin to circulate in your social-media feeds: 11. That’s the total number of Syrian refugees the United States has accepted so far in 2018, a minuscule amount compared to the same period two years ago. Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant policies are a prominent undercurrent in This Is Home, a documentary following several Syrian refugees settling in Baltimore. But the film’s central conflict is even more systemic. It brings viewers along for the profoundly disorienting experiences—both big and small—that come with fleeing to a new country: struggling with the language, watching destruction in your home country on the evening news, realizing you’re on the wrong bus. It engenders both empathy for its subjects and anger at the system that gives them a brutally short eight months to become self-sufficient. And it quietly reveals how quick white Americans are to play the savior and how their good intentions can morph into condescension. This Is Home is a powerful story that turns away from familiar footage of migrants fleeing violence and toward the loneliness of what happens next.
Last chance to see This Is Home is tonight at the 44th annual Seattle International Film Festival, which happens through June 10. More recommended SIFF films here; and all SIFF films here.
