Refugee Action Collective Illawarra (RAC) will show the highly acclaimed film Chauka Please Tell Us the Time at the Gala Twin Cinemas on Thursday, March 15.

The screening follows similar showings at the Sydney, Melbourne and London film festivals.

RAC spokesperson Marion Jacka said the film breaks the silence on the reality of the lives of refugees on Manus Island.

Shot on a phone and smuggled out of Manus Island detention centre intermittently via a slow internet connection by detained journalist Behrouz Boochani, the film is the result of a collaboration with Netherlands-based Iranian filmmaker Arash Kamali Sarvestani.

Chauka refers to a bird unique to Manus Island, something that Manusians regard with pride. In a cruel twist, it was also the name given to the prison’s solitary confinement unit.

Jacka said the film reveals sobering first-hand accounts of harassment, belittlement and mistreatment.

She added it was a powerful expose and call to action to end Australian off-shore detention.

“Chauka Please Tell Us the Time is a gentle, poetic but damning portrayal of Australia’s brutal off-shore detention policy and the deepening humanitarian crisis that is unfolding on Manus Island, and this is Illawarra’s chance to see it down here. It comes highly recommended,” Jacka said.

Read more: Warrawong IEC students’ Harmony Day blanket

The film screens on March 15 at 6.30pm. Tickets cost $15 from Refugee Action Collective Illawarra’s Facebook page or on Eventbrite.