How to Please

Wed Al-Asadi, having fled the civil war in Iraq, applies for asylum in Finland. Although his lawyer is confident that he will receive a residence permit, his request is rejected. Wed appeals. He makes use of the long waiting time to integrate into Finnish society, as far as he is allowed to. He finds a job as a cook, applies for a work permit and tries to get an education. Ironically, all this turns out to work against him in his asylum procedure. It also transpires that he can’t be sent back to Iraq, because the country refuses to cooperate in the return of refugees. In How to Please, Wed tells his story on a minimal set: on a black studio floor, open structures of colored beams form the different rooms in which he is interrogated by an AI voice, and where he is obliged to wait and hope. It looks like a human-sized mousetrap — fitting for an asylum procedure that leads Wed from pillar to post, and to the point of despair. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)