LOUISE HUNT

Investigative multi-media freelance journalist, filmmaker and communications consultant

Photograph: © LOUISE HUNT

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THE WORK

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FILM

‘No Way Back’ explores the realities of life in Italy for two asylum seekers from Gambia, both called Lamin, who risked their lives to reach Europe in the hope of getting an education and jobs. But since the Italian government changed its immigration laws in November 2018, they are at risk of joining the thousands of undocumented migrants who are forced onto the streets or seek shelter in squalid camps and squats, such as ‘The Ghetto’, a derelict factory in Rome. 

Meanwhile since January 2017, thousands of migrants rescued by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) from dire conditions in Libya have been repatriated to Gambia. Some of these returnees have become activists and have formed projects to try to re-build their lives and overcome the stigma of being so-called ‘failed migrants’.

In ‘No Way Back’, the two Lamins in Rome meet members of Returnees from the Backway via a Skype conversation, where they share their experiences in Italy and Gambia and reflect on what to do next.


This film is supported by a Migration Media Award.
Director/Producer: Louise Hunt
Director of Photography: Jason Florio

‘We Never Gave Up: Stories of courage in Gambia’ is a documentary made for Amnesty International by investigative journalist/filmmaker Louise Hunt and photojournalist/filmmaker Jason Florio. We were asked to make this film following our work documenting the country’s remarkable political transition from dictatorship to democracy in January 2017, after 22-years of Yahya Jammeh’s brutal rule. It is only now that the country is going through a painful process of truth and reconciliation that the extent of the human rights abuses perpetrated under his regime are being exposed.

The film tells the story of the courage and resilience of just some of the many individuals who risked their lives, and some of those whose lives were lost, in the long journey to New Gambia – a country that respects freedom of speech and human rights. Their stories should give hope to others who are facing the same challenges that they too can make a difference.

Now the story continues with the thousands of victims of the regime who are seeking justice.

The documentary has also had quite a journey since its premier by Amnesty International in Gambia in January 2018. It has also been screened by Amnesty International in London, been broadcast on Senegalese TV, received ‘Best Screenplay for Documentary Short Film’ in the Five Continents International Film Festival 2018, Venezuela, and was selected for screening at the Pan African Film Festival 2019, in Los Angeles, it is also hosted on the AfriDocs TV platform, exclusive to viewers in Africa. I hope there will be many more opportunities to share this story.

 

Directed by Louise Hunt & Jason Florio