Unsettled: Seeking Refuge in America possesses the unique experience of filming the concerns of LGBTQ immigrants in a period right before their plight becomes even worse. The Trump administration, unapologetically indicted by this picture, slashed the number of immigrants allowed in the U.S. to an all-time low. This documentary by director Tom Shepard spans several years (starting the year before Trump’s election) and follows four LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers seeking safety in the United States after fleeing their anti-LGBTQ countries. The way their experiences are framed is at once personal and political.
“We felt like there are no good people in the world.” There’s a heaviness in the haunting expressions of two young Angolan women. Cheyenne and Mari, a lesbian couple, have just arrived in San Francisco and now relive the abuse they experienced in their country of origin. They were harassed on the streets of Angola; a family member once poisoned their food. Unsettled emphasizes their reaching safety as asylum seekers only to remain extremely vulnerable and fight exhaustively to be able to stay. Through Cheyenne and Mari’s toiling endeavors, Unsettled teaches that the life of an asylum seeker is similar to but not the same as that of a refugee. It’s unsteady—a constant battle to keep hold of what you currently grasp in your hands.
Subhi comes to America as a refugee from Syria. After seeing an Alqaeda branch kill and torture other gay men in his hometown, Subhi didn’t feel he could leave his home. As a refugee in the U.S, he has his ups and downs: becoming an internationally recognized LGBTQ refugee advocate, losing his job, struggling with depression, attempting to get his sister out of Syria. Subhi’s celebrity status is a departure from the refugee’s “norm.” Yet Unsettled’s heartfelt exploration of his life shows us that some struggles are universal among immigrants, as long as the system in which they live remains the same.
Junior’s story illustrates this “universal struggle” even more so. He flees Congo, where he lived with his anti-gay conservative Christian family. Junior’s obstacles in the U.S. match those of many refugees. He moves ten times in his first year in San Francisco, struggles to find work, lacks friends, and encounters barriers when it comes to learning the new normal.
Unsettled provides a detailed look at the lives of a group of people who are often misunderstood and mischaracterized. The documentary accomplishes a lot to give a full picture of each person’s successes, struggles, and failures. Additionally, it devotes screen time to those who make it their life’s calling to advocate for people like Cheyenne, Mari, Subhi, and Junior.
Brimming with emotion, the stories here lend an empathetic eye to their subjects, while highlighting the facts of what immigrants have to endure upon their arrival in the U.S. You’ll get a harrowing, but hopeful picture of immigration in this pointed and emotional plea to consider the unique plight of the LGBTQ refugee and asylum seeker. A necessary addition for documentary and LGBTQ shelves. Highly recommended. Editor’s Choice. Aud: H, C, P.
Included in our list of Best Documentaries 2021.
