Northern Ireland premiere of a powerful film focusing on the traumatic journeys of refugees.
The Boat is the creation of The Boat Collective, a theatre group with its roots in Europe’s largest and most inhumane refugee camp, Moria, on Lesvos island in Greece.
The collective was established to cope with the difficulties refugees have experienced, and to develop environments for social support, creative expression and connection at a time when it was needed the most.
Over the two years in Lesvos, the collective (since relocated to Athens) grew into a close-knit network of artists, debuting their own self-led performance The Boat in August 2021. The Boat was an interdisciplinary theatre performance connecting various forms of non-verbal art including acting and dance — with music and sound — to explore themes of inequality and inhumanity in today's global society.
The film, produced for the big screen from a non-verbal theatre performance, explores multiple themes — from the creation of humans, the treacherous journeys of forced migration, the protection of children and the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.
The Boat is brought to Nerve Centre by North West Migrants Forum volunteer Cara Gilliland, with all proceeds going to The Boat Collective.