An exploration of the waking and dreaming lives of a motley crew of migrants, hippies, and other ‘outsiders’ who respond to an audition call out for a film asking them for ‘dreams, lies, memories and gossip’.

They say there are only two stories worth telling: a person goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town. This film is about a stranger who comes to make a film in a small town, and the people she meets when she holds auditions. Together, they go on a cinematic journey to explore their experiences. Featuring a cast of migrant workers, hippies, Travellers, blow-ins and newly arrived refugees, we are ushered into the private worlds of people living between two cultures, sharing their desires of longing and belonging. Town of Strangers is a ‘hybrid’ feature film using auditions, observational documentary and magical realist dream scenes. It is a documentary of the imagination, with many scenes transcending the genres of documentary and fiction, going deep into the experience of migration and home through cinematic methods. Director Treasa O’Brien worked closely with the film’s participants to create these scenes and with Joshua Oppenheimer, the executive producer and creative advisor to the film in their conception.

“I’ve never been to bloody Ireland” recounts new age hippy Ralf from England. “I said to my girlfriend, ‘I’ll be back in three weeks.’ That was seventeen years ago. Do you think she’s still waiting for me? She must have boiled the kettle a thousand times.”

“I came from under the truck ”says Hamid from Afghanistan. “I got off in Dublin and I asked someone “where am I?”

“I used to be a passionate person but now I’m more cold. I don’t know if it’s Ireland or what,” muses Ana from Brazil.

“I was the first Traveller in my family to complete the Leaving Cert,” says eighteen-year-old Chloe, “I don’t want to get married yet. I’ve my whole life ahead of me”.

Writer & Director: Treasa O'Brien

82mins | Ireland | 2018

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