Film No. 58 (2016) The Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe September 24th.

Film No. 58 (2016) September 24th.  11.00 PM LUNA Leederville.

"Rape, violence against women. Can they ever put their lives back together again? I wanted to do something, however small". (Director Ros Horin's voiceover to a trailer outlining the beginnings of her seed of an idea).

I won't rate this slice of social commentary about the trials of theatre director Ros Horin, as she seeks out 4 African women who sought refuge here in Australia to escape their torturous lives. A rating may be misleading because the film is not sophisticated or ground breaking. It is simply a running commentary, but an important one none the less.


We meet Ros driving through the suburbs of Sydney thinking aloud. She is seeking a project to extend her skills as an accomplished theatre director. It dawns on her that interviewing newly settled refugees adapting to suburban life after escaping their war torn existences' would make interesting commentary. And she is right, the commentary is interesting.


From here our "fly on the wall" experience becomes just that, until the drama of the process unfolds. Yordanos Haile-Michaels (Yordy) was left to her own devises, along with her two brothers, at age 3 in war torn Eritrea in the late eighties. Her path through Horan's therapeutic theatre process steals the show (from a film POV). Yordy provides the most moving scenes as we focus on the strengths and vulnerabilities of a woman facing her fears. Fears we can't even pretend to imagine. Take tissues for a three minute scene as Yordy's 11 year old son describing why he admires his mum so much.


All five woman make inspirational transitions via this unique theatrical therapy method. Those who have enjoyed the final production, mainly Sydney or Melbourne patrons, will have a more intimate sense of the film. It's an interesting fly on the wall experience. An experience I found both inspiring and enjoyable.