Letters to Ali

This documentary chronicles one exceptional 'average' Australian family, Trish, her husband Rob and their four children, who decide to help on a small level by writing to Ali - a 15-year-old Afghan boy detained at Port Hedland and unaccompanied by any relatives. This letter would prove to be the catalyst for a three-year on-going battle with Australian authorities to get Ali, then a minor, out of detention. Hong Kong-born/Melbourne-based Clara Law and her husband, filmmaker Eddie Fong, felt a similar urge to contribute to the debate after noticing a newspaper story about Ali written by Trish Kerbi in September 2002. Clara, who is a feature filmmaker ("The Goddess of 1967"), and Eddie contacted Trish and they decided to make a film about Ali's case. Clara and Eddie's personal journey parallels that of Trish and her family as they all travel from Victoria across Australia to Port Hedland in Western Australia to visit Ali, and take up his case for a visa.