Join us after the screening for an insightful panel discussion with three very special guests: Mustafa Jawadi, a Canberra-based refugee featured in the film; human rights lawyer Marion Le; and Kathy Ragless, director of refugee support group Companion House.

In Freedom Stories, a highlight at CIFF in 2015, award-winning documentary filmmaker Steve Thomas explores the achievements of former ’boat people’ who arrived from the Middle East seeking asylum around 2001 – a year marked by the Tampa affair and PM John Howard’s declaration “We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come.”

Some were only children when they found themselves in indefinite mandatory detention in remote places such as Woomera or Nauru, and then placed on temporary protection visas (TPV), which extended their limbo for years. Now Australian citizens, they are finally building secure lives and contributing to their new home country.

Mustafa Jawadi, a member of tonight’s distinguished Q&A panel, is the opening story. Mustafa is a motor mechanic in Canberra. After fleeing Afghanistan with his family at the age of 10, their boat caught fire during a stand-off with the Australian Navy. Rescued from the water, they were detained on Nauru for three years where his younger brother was born, and all spent three more years on TPVs.

Thomas adopts an informal, laid back style as he gently questions his subjects, giving the material an intimate feel. The film shies away from the usual histrionics and strident tone that often surrounds the refugee debate. Instead, the stories provide powerful insights into the complexities involved in dealing with asylum seekers arriving on our doorsteps. With this subject still testing us and many other nations, it is heartening that despite the hardships most of the refugees endured, Freedom Stories remains remarkably upbeat and optimistic. Do stay after the screening and join in the discussion.