CinemaOSMovie · 2017 · 1h 30m

Chauka, Please Tell Us The Time

68%(4)IMDbDocumentary

An urgent and powerful documentary, shot in a detention centre where asylum seekers trying to reach Australian shores are indefinitely detained. Secretly shot on a mobile phone by Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani while detained on Manus, in Papua New Guinea, the film is a collaboration with Dutch-Iranian filmmaker Arash Kamali Sarvestani. Boochani recounts, via the testimonies of fellow inmates, the abuse and violence inflicted and the precarious state of limbo they find themselves in. Chauka, the name of the dreaded solitary confinement unit within the detention centre, was originally the name of a beautiful bird and symbol of the Manus Island. By interweaving dialogue with two Manusian men and shots of daily life on the island, the film gives a much-needed voice to Manus inhabitants, understandably distressed by the current situation. With marked restraint, the film exposes lives broken by shocking immigration policies.

Directed byBehrouz Boochani, Arash Kamali Sarvestani

Play
Status
Released
Runtime
1h 30m
Language
EN
Released
June 16, 2017

Watch the

Trailers & teasers

1 video
Chauka Please Tell Us The Time – Trailer – SFF 17

Chauka Please Tell Us The Time – Trailer – SFF 17

Featuring

Cast & crew

1 credited
Starring

Behrouz Boochani

Behrouz Boochani

Creative team
Directed by
Behrouz Boochani
Arash Kamali Sarvestani
Written by
Arash Kamali Sarvestani
Behrouz Boochani

Keep watching

More like this

10 Years

10 Years

2025 · Film

En marche vers l'Elysée6.0

En marche vers l'Elysée

2017 · Film

Dans la tête d'Emmanuel Macron

Dans la tête d'Emmanuel Macron

2016 · Film

Rule Britannia7.3

Rule Britannia

1996 · Film

Leninland1.0

Leninland

2013 · Film

Underground Dance

Underground Dance

2015 · Film

Latche, l'esprit des lieux

Latche, l'esprit des lieux

2026 · Film

The Tragedy of Carpatho-Ukraine10.0

The Tragedy of Carpatho-Ukraine

1940 · Film

Blueberry Soup

Blueberry Soup

2013 · Film

The Corporation7.6

The Corporation

2003 · Film

Ainsi soit Macron6.0

Ainsi soit Macron

2017 · Film

Emmanuel Macron: Behind the Rise6.6

Emmanuel Macron: Behind the Rise

2017 · Film

The 50 Year Argument6.6

The 50 Year Argument

2014 · Film

Time Keeps Marching On

Time Keeps Marching On

2026 · Film

Big Charity: The Death of America's Oldest Hospital10.0

Big Charity: The Death of America's Oldest Hospital

2014 · Film

La Resistance

La Resistance

2025 · Film

President Joe Biden: Not Your Average Joe1.0

President Joe Biden: Not Your Average Joe

Film

Freedom for the Wolf10.0

Freedom for the Wolf

2017 · Film

Picked for you

Recommended movies

Heart of a Dog6.5

Heart of a Dog

2015 · Film

The September Issue6.6

The September Issue

2009 · Film

Titicut Follies7.3

Titicut Follies

1967 · Film

Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)8.4

Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)

2026 · Film

Elephant7.7

Elephant

2020 · Film

The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story7.3

The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story

2019 · Film

180° South7.2

180° South

2010 · Film

The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance7.5

The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

2019 · Film

Earth7.7

Earth

2007 · Film

More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead7.4

More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead

2011 · Film

Naqoyqatsi6.2

Naqoyqatsi

2002 · Film

Baraka8.2

Baraka

1992 · Film

Born to Be Wild7.0

Born to Be Wild

2011 · Film

Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red6.8

Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red

2022 · Film

Alone in the Wilderness7.9

Alone in the Wilderness

2004 · Film

Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear7.0

Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear

2022 · Film

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema7.5

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema

2022 · Film

Western Stars7.0

Western Stars

2019 · Film

Five Broken Cameras7.5

Five Broken Cameras

2011 · Film

The Captains6.4

The Captains

2011 · Film