South London, and New York based filmmaker Mollie Moore's film A Word Away is a documentary that follows the hardships, mental health and loneliness that comes with the title 'immigrant' in Maine, USA. The film follows Cosmo, his father and his sick mother as they attempt to find 'home' in a place that doesn't seem to welcome them. Cosmo has struggled with mutism, mental health and physical illness, but this film shows him in a light where he is wanting to speak out and connect with others. We are introduced to his friend Moon, a poet in Maine USA, who encourages him to write his story lyrically, ending with a tearful performance, with his Dad in the audience.

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Mollie Moore "Migration is a multi-layered term that has broadened and complicated itself in my mind, the longer I have lived in a land that is not my own. It is often deemed as a negative by some, as if searching for a better future in an unfamiliar place is a threat and something to be feared. To me, it shows bravery and resilience, surviving and battling systems that strategically repress any form of 'otherness', and the journeys it took to get there.  

In the world’s current refugee crisis, reflected on the borders of European countries like my own, we dehumanise and distance ourselves from the struggles of people whose wars and politics are usually influenced by the West. Yet when these individuals turn to us for aid, we turn our backs and forget to see we are all alike.

Cosmo and Moon are poetic and eloquent voices, telling a universal story of home and belonging. This story seeks to understand the meaning of 'home' and the ripple effects that are caused when a home is not so willingly offered by the countries receiving such courageous people."

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