Limbo (Ben Sharrock 2020, 12) : Crime and Justice Film Festival

Limbo (Ben Sharrock 2020, 12)

On a remote Scottish island, four asylum seekers – Syrian Omar, Farhad from Afghanistan, Wasef from Nigeria and Abedi from Ghana – wait for their claims to be decided. And wait, and wait. Barred from taking paid work, they fill their days by watching DVDs, attending wince-inducing “cultural awareness” sessionsand arguing among themselves (will Wasef ever play for Chelsea? were Ross and Rachel really on a break?) Omar’s life is dominated by calls to his parents (exiles in Istanbul) and by his oud – a stringed instrument which he carries at all times but never feels able to play.

Remote Scottish islands were the settings for Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero and Powell and Pressburger’s I Know Where I’m Going. Limbo (which was shot and written on Uist) is darker in tone – happy endings are far from guaranteed – but has echoes of the sublime grandeur of those films’ setting, and touches of their bone-dry wit.

“A lot of the humour ... came from the fact that we’re always sharing the refugees’ perspective. ... Sadly, the way that Western countries receive and treat a lot of refugees is absurd and ridiculous.” – Ben Sharrock

Limbo will be introduced by Dr Benedicte Brahic, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University, who co-leads the university’s Migration Research Group. Benedicte will be joined for the Q&A by Susan O’Shea, who leads the university’s Sonic Studies Research Group and Martha Snelling from charity Breaking Barriers, who support refugees to access meaningful employment and build a new life.

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ALL EVENTS ARE FREE – PLEASE BOOK TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT

Welcome to the 2026 festival sponsored by the School of Sociology & Criminology at Manchester Metropolitan University and curated by the university’s Policy Evaluation and Research Unit.

Since 2019 we’ve had a consistent mission – screening great films which provoke debate and provide an alternative take on crime, justice and punishment in the 21st century.

This year’s programme brings you an eclectic mix of international crime classics and lesser-known gems from a century of cinema, with settings ranging from the Scottish islands to the south of Chile. Our experts will be on hand to introduce the movies and to answer your questions at Q+A sessions after each screening. Selected screenings will also feature short films documenting creative projects delivered in prisons, in partnership between artist Faye Claridge, learners from each establishment and our partner Novus.

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The Festival is supported by our partners:

• Instituto Cervantes Manchester

• Alliance Française de Manchester (Registered Charity n° 1068084)

• Greater Manchester Youth Federation

• North West Film Archive

• Novus

• Goethe-Institut UK

• Breaking Barriers

• In Place of War

Screenings will take place at Grosvenor East Building, the university’s Arts and Creative Hub. Grosvenor East is on the corner of Oxford Road and Cavendish Street, five minutes’ walk from Oxford Rd train station. We also have a joint screening with our partners at Instituto Cervantes Manchester.

We look forward to welcoming old friends and new audiences alike, from the UK and internationally.

See you at the movies!

Your festival team:

Kevin Wong, Gavin Bailey, Anton Roberts, Katie Hunter, Phil Edwards and Benedicte Brahic

Film notes by Phil Edwards

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Host or Publisher Manchester Centre for Linguistics Research