Free film screening: Freedom Stories (2015)

Published on 12 May 2026

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Wednesday 17 June
6.30pm - 9pm 

Clayton Theatre, Clayton Community Centre 
FREE Ticketed Event. 

To mark Refugee Week 2026 (14 –20 June) you’re invited to a FREE screening of the Australian documentary Freedom Stories (PG)

Directed by filmmaker Steve Thomas, the documentary documents the challenges and achievements of people who arrived in Australia seeking asylum from the Middle East around 2001—a pivotal period in Australian political history following the Tampa affair.  

Now Australian citizens, individuals featured in the film share deeply personal accounts of displacement, resilience and rebuilding their lives, including children who experienced mandatory detention in remote locations such as Woomera and Nauru, followed by years on temporary protection visas. For many, stability came only after more than a decade of uncertainty. 

Freedom Stories (PG) gives voice to people whose lives were profoundly shaped by political decisions of the time. They are now members of our community—parents, workers and neighbours—whose stories continue to offer important insight into the human impact of asylum policies. 

 Refugee Week’s 2026 theme ‘A Million Stories’ represents Australia’s milestone of welcoming a million refugees since World War II. This Refugee Week, we celebrate the million lives and the million stories that have helped shape the Australia we all call home today.

 
Director, Steve Thomas, will also attend the screening to provide a short introduction and discuss his inspiration for making it.

 

 

 

More about Refugee Week at www.refugeeweek.org.au  

 

 

 

 

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