The Way
to Freedom.

Making space for lived experience.

Completed in 2023 for Refugee Week 2023, The Way to Freedom (Part 1: The Journey) follows people leaving conflict behind and seeking a new life in Australia. Set around Greater Shepparton’s communities, it considers both arrival and the longer work of finding connection, including the place of schools in children’s new beginnings.

Through personal interviews and visual storytelling, the documentary follows the challenges of displacement alongside the hope, resilience and determination involved in rebuilding a life. Its focus on families enrolling their children in local schools shows how education and community support can help turn arrival into a sense of belonging.

Hussam wrote the film and shared its direction with Darryl McConnell, who also produced it. Their collaboration brought education, community relationships and filmmaking together. Explore the project and full credits ↗

GSSC reports that more than 350 students and staff contributed. The project created opportunities to share experiences and take part in storytelling, with students also contributing to filming and music. Read GSSC’s story about the collaboration ↗

For Hussam, the purpose is to encourage people to listen closely to refugee experiences, recognise the strength behind new beginnings and understand what belonging can mean in everyday life.

A collective story, brought to life.

More than 350 GSSC students and staff took part in this project, contributing as performers, videographers and audio technicians. The production photographs show the work behind its scenes, from filming at school to gathering on location in the bush and beside the river.

The production credits name Wren Morris, Jamila Sudi and Emily Nash as videographers, alongside Hussam Saraf as writer and co-director and Darryl McConnell as producer and co-director. Together, these contributions made the film a shared expression of the school community.

Education, lived experience and the power of a story.

Hussam Saraf is an educator, author and multicultural community leader whose work connects students, families and the wider Greater Shepparton community. As Multicultural Liaison Leader at Greater Shepparton Secondary College, he brings a commitment to inclusion and cultural understanding to both his professional work and his storytelling.

The Way to Freedom marked his debut as a short-film director. It grew from his work with refugee and immigrant communities and his belief that personal stories can challenge misconceptions, build empathy and create stronger connections between people.

His writing includes Between the Ashes and the Stars: A Window into the Lives of Refugee Students (2017), exploring the challenges and achievements of refugee students. His forthcoming book, Embarrassing Diversity in Education: A Call to Redefine Our Future, considers the place of diversity in shaping education.

Read more about Hussam → · Explore his books →

30 May 2025 · Selection announcement: I shared the release and festival selection of The Way to Freedom (Part 1: The Journey), describing its creation with producer and co-director Darryl McConnell and more than 350 GSSC students and staff. At that point, the film was a finalist; it went on to receive the Chairperson’s Refugee Stories Award on 19 June 2025. Read my original announcement ↗

A milestone shared with the community.

The film received the inaugural Chairperson’s Refugee Stories Award at the 2025 Multicultural Film Festival. The presentation took place at ACMI in Melbourne during Refugee Week, recognising a story created through the efforts of students, staff and the wider school community. Read the official award announcement ↗

The conversation continues beyond the screen.

Screenings bring the film into a shared space where audiences can listen, ask questions and reflect together. These photographs follow the project through community discussions, a University of Melbourne screening and the people who came together around it.

Experience The Way to Freedom.

SBS On Demand lists the film as a short documentary in English with English closed captions. Its Arabic-language page offers another way to navigate to the film.

Meet some of the student participants.

Kadir SUT was one of the main characters in The Way to Freedom (Part 1: The Journey). Diya Ali Bangash also contributed as a student to this shared project. Explore their writing, creative work and community participation in their dedicated mentorship profiles.

كان قادر SUT من الشخصيات الرئيسية في فيلم الطريق إلى الحرية، كما شاركت ضياء علي بانغاش بصفتها طالبة في هذا المشروع الجماعي. تعرّفوا على أعمالهما ومشاركاتهما من خلال صفحتيهما في قسم الإرشاد.

Part 2: The Camp.

The Way to Freedom is conceived as a multi-part exploration of the refugee journey. A planned second instalment, Part 2: The Camp, will focus on experiences in refugee camps before resettlement.

The intention is to deepen understanding of the different stages of displacement and the lives behind them. Further production and release details will be shared as the project develops.