Hailed as the most striking British film debut of 2025, 'Dreamers' arrives in cinemas as a powerful and timely romantic drama. The film, directed by first-time feature filmmaker Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, provides a desperately sad yet urgent glimpse into the world of immigration detention centres, focusing on a love story that blossoms within its confines.
A Story Forged from Personal Experience
For Gharoro-Akpojotor, a producer on UK hits like Blue Story and Boxing Day, the project is deeply personal. She herself claimed asylum in Britain due to her sexuality, an experience that directly informs the film's perspective. "I have been through the system," the filmmaker states, "and my goal here was to tell a story of asylum seeking from the point of view of an asylum seeker." She criticises how films often fail to centre the humanity of those undergoing the process, a gap she aimed to fill through the lens of a love story.
The director developed the project against a backdrop of persistent hostility towards immigrants, a theme she notes has dominated headlines for decades. "We're having the exact same conversations about 'immigrants taking your jobs' that we were having 20 years ago," she observes. Gharoro-Akpojotor is keen to challenge simplistic narratives, arguing that issues like rising taxes or the cost of living are wrongly blamed on immigration. "It has to do with whoever is in power, but immigration is such nice, low hanging fruit," she says.
Finding Love and Humanity in Detention
'Dreamers' follows Isio, portrayed by Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, who is detained after arriving from Nigeria where she faced persecution for her sexuality. Forced to repeatedly prove the dangers she fled, Isio meets and falls in love with fellow detainee Farah, played by Ann Akinjirin.
Beyond its immigration focus, the film is a significant cinematic moment as a queer love story about two Black women. Gharoro-Akpojotor believes it is only the second Black lesbian film to receive a UK cinema release. "I think it's the second Black lesbian film to be in cinemas in the UK, which is crazy," she remarks. This representation was a conscious and vital part of her vision.
A Visual Quest for Joy and Hope
Defying grim expectations, the director sought to infuse the film with beauty and warmth. She employed sumptuous colour, soft gliding camera movements, and deliberate mood lighting to capture the intimacy of the central relationship. "When you are in love with somebody, the light just hits them differently," she explains.
Her mission was to "find the joy in the story" and in places where audiences don't typically expect to see it. "I'm interested in finding joy in places that we don't normally see it in, because it does exist," Gharoro-Akpojotor asserts. She emphasises that hope is a crucial human survival mechanism during traumatic times, a truth drawn from her own life. By showcasing this humanity, the film compellingly asks viewers to see asylum seekers as individuals with rich inner lives, dreams, and capacity for love.
'Dreamers' is now showing in cinemas across the UK.
