Chasing Freedom, which
is inspired by true events, depicts the horrors of life under the
Taliban in Afghanistan and one young woman's grueling attempt to seek
political asylum in the United States. Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominee
Juliette Lewis stars as Libby Brock, an ambitious corporate lawyer
who reluctantly takes on the pro-bono political asylum case of Meena,
the young Afghan woman portrayed by Layla Alizada. Chasing Freedom
dramatizes a topic that has grown increasingly critical in recent
years, as the United States grapples with the need to keep its citizens
secure yet also provide refuge to immigrants who are in danger in their
own homelands.
As Chasing Freedom begins, Taliban warlords have control
over the citizenry of Afghanistan, forcing women to hide in their homes
and under their burqas. Meena, formerly a University student in Kabul,
has begun secretly teaching the young women of her neighborhood to read
and write. When the police discover her makeshift school, she and her
family are plunged into grave danger. Eventually, she flees to the
United States, but without any paperwork documenting her experience or
her identity. Libby, a successful business lawyer in New York, takes on
Meena's political asylum case and learns very quickly that
asylum-seekers face nearly insurmountable obstacles and grim,
prison-like conditions while their cases wind their long way through
immigration bureaucracy. In the process, Libby's entire viewpoint and
priorities are transformed.
Starring
Juliette Lewis
Layla Alizada
Brian Markinson
Written by
Barbara Samuels
Executive Producers
Judy Ranan
Noreen Halpern
John Morayniss
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