Return to Life

Return to Life


John Krish's deeply compassionate documentary on the resettlement of refugees in Britain; made to mark World Refugee Year 1959.

A refugee family comes to terms with living in England and adjusting to a new language and culture. John Krish's deeply compassionate documentary on the resettlement of refugees was produced by Leon Clore, on behalf of the Central Office of Information, to mark International Refugee Year 1959.

Although Clore was then known for his association with Free Cinema talents Lindsay Anderson and Karel Reisz, Krish's approach to the material is largely at odds with the Free Cinema ethos, although he does characteristically cross the boundaries of documentary and fiction by using real-life refugees to play characters in a fictionalised narrative.Director John Krish's empathy for his subject may have been influenced by his own family's immigrant background; his father and both sets of his grandparents had come to Britain as Jewish refugees from eastern Europe. The deeply compassionate treatment of this theme, following an opening section drawing attention to Britain's history as a haven for refugees, serves as a reminder that the UK was not always as keen to demonstrate the 'hard line' approach to immigration and asylum that it tends to favour today (particularly when addressing its own citizens).


Tags

From the collection

Refugee Week

To mark Refugee Week, BFI and Counterpoints Arts have compiled a collection of films that explore refugee experiences across continents and generations

From First World War newsreels to 21st Century online video, these works bear witness to displacement across the globe.

Refugee Week is an international festival of arts, cultural and educational events that celebrate the contributions and diversity that refugees bring, and encourages a better understanding between communities.


13 videos in this collection

John Krish's deeply compassionate documentary on the resettlement of refugees in Britain; made to mark World Refugee Year 1959.
1

Return to Life

A Hungarian refugee attempts to navigate 1950s London with no English, little money and only an address on a postcard for guidance.
2

Refuge England

There's something reminiscent in this home movie from the 1930s – with refugees escaping from a distant civil war to find safety in England
3

Basque Refugees at Stoneham and a Holiday to Lands End

Fascinating, sometimes harrowing record of life in camps run by international aid agencies following the bombing of Shanghai by the Japanese.
4

Refugees in Shanghai Their Life and Their Education

Heart-rending British appeal film for funds to ease suffering of China's orphaned children and starving millions after Japanese invasion.
5

Aid to China

Powerful newsreel images of displaced Serbians seeking help at a British military base during WWI.
6

British Nurses in Serbia

Scenes of panic on the streets of Shanghai as Chinese citizens seek protection from Communist and Kuomintang violence behind Allied barricades.
7

A City of Chaos

Belgian soldiers and civilian refugees gather in Ostend in early WWI, before evacuating to England.
8

Ostend in War-Time

How did Taiwan cope with the huge influx of Chinese refugees from the mainland after the war? This report explains why the island is a symbol of hope for all developing countries.
9

Formosa - Island of Promise

Powerful online video from a refugee NGO using ingenious film techniques
10

Let Refugees Learn

11

Class of '87 - Phuong

12

Impressions of Exile

13

A Place in Mind

View full collection