I Must Away
Dennis left Ireland during the financial crisis to find work abroad. Hashem, a politician, fled Bangladesh for Spain when a change in government triggered threats to his life. Alicia left Peru for Chile, and then Chile for Spain, after falling into debt selling goods on the streets. By age 18, Ali had fled Afghanistan, Iran, and Sweden, finally reaching France, where he hoped to secure asylum. Mary, Dennis’s grandmother, stayed in Ireland for most of her life, and lived just a few miles from where she was born.
In his first feature, director Dennis Harvey explores what it means to be a migrant. Narrated through a series of letters to his grandmother, the film disentangles roots, land and identity, and explores the unequal distribution of privilege in this age of global migration.
