Letter to Clara: cinematic epistolarity and the outsider's vision in "Letters to Ali"

Abstract

Clara Law's Letters to Ali (2004) relates the story of a 15-year old Afghan boy (his real name is not disclosed), who at the time of filming was kept at the Port Hedland detention centre in northern Western Australia, having entered Australia by sea without a visa. The film, however, focuses primarily on an Australian medical doctor, Trish Kerbi, and her family, as they journey by car, pulling a small trailer with tents, luggage and provisions, all the way from Melbourne to Port Hedland. Their purpose is to meet Ali, with whom they have been communicating by letter and telephone. Trish and her husband, Ryan, are also making efforts to have Ali released from the detention centre and adopted into their family.