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Asylum: Fleeing Genital Mutilation
| Length: | 20 min |
| Released: | 2003 |
| Ages: |
High School College Adult |
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Asylum is a powerful tale of a young Ghanaian woman whose life suddenly changes when her father insists that she undergo a bloody, life-threatening circumcision before marrying an older man.
Baaba Andoh had a happy childhood, raised by her mother who sold vegetables in the marketplace. After seeking out her long-lost father to obtain his blessing for her marriage to the man of her dreams, she learns of her father's plan and flees her village.
Having no recourse but to leave the country, she obtains a false passport and a ticket to the US, but is arrested at Newark Airport when customs officials spot the forgery. After a nightmarish year in prison, she successfully obtains political asylum. Her chilling story is not unlike that of many of the 7,000 women immigrants now being held in detention, awaiting legal representation and hearings on their claims.
Baaba Andoh had a happy childhood, raised by her mother who sold vegetables in the marketplace. After seeking out her long-lost father to obtain his blessing for her marriage to the man of her dreams, she learns of her father's plan and flees her village.
Having no recourse but to leave the country, she obtains a false passport and a ticket to the US, but is arrested at Newark Airport when customs officials spot the forgery. After a nightmarish year in prison, she successfully obtains political asylum. Her chilling story is not unlike that of many of the 7,000 women immigrants now being held in detention, awaiting legal representation and hearings on their claims.
"Asylum, which recounts a young woman's flight from ritual mutilation in her native Ghana, is brutal and unnerving with McLeod dissolving from her subject to the Ghanaian streets and back, with terror and dismay always a few steps behind."
‒Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
"Highly recommended as an instructional resource for discussion and study in women's studies, sociology, African Studies and anthropology."
‒Kayo Denda, Rutgers University Libraries for Educational Media Reviews Online
‒Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
"Highly recommended as an instructional resource for discussion and study in women's studies, sociology, African Studies and anthropology."
‒Kayo Denda, Rutgers University Libraries for Educational Media Reviews Online
Academy Award Nomination, 2004
Harlem Film Festival, 2004
Best Documentary, Aspen Shortsfest, 2003
Crystal Heart Award, Heartland Film Festival, 2003
Palm Springs Film Festival, 2003
New Directors, New Films, 2003
New York Expo of Short Films, 2004
Harlem Film Festival, 2004
Best Documentary, Aspen Shortsfest, 2003
Crystal Heart Award, Heartland Film Festival, 2003
Palm Springs Film Festival, 2003
New Directors, New Films, 2003
New York Expo of Short Films, 2004
