Arriving on the shores of France is merely the beginning of a labyrinthian journey for more than 50,000 refugees seeking asylum through the municipal reception center in Paris each year. Cultures collide as refugees from the Congo, Chechnya, Sri Lanka and Ethiopia meet with well-intentioned but overwhelmed European social workers. Asylum seekers hoping to leave behind a life filled with war and famine, persecution and poverty find themselves forced to comply with a bureaucratic logic that resembles another kind of torment, and their social workers, faced with dwindling reserves of options and patience, are at risk of collapsing under the sheer number of new applicants.

THE ARRIVALS
Doc & Film International
Hwa-Seon Choi
Tel: +331.42.775.687
Fax: +331.42.773.656
itl@docandfilm.com