Drake, a vibrant 22-year-old gay man from Uganda, leaves behind everything he knows in order to be who he is and love whomever he chooses without fear of discrimination, persecution or violence—a freedom that everyone deserves.

Tasked with a year-long commitment as Drake’s primary support network, a group of strangers from Vancouver’s queer community unite under the banner of Rainbow Refugee, a non-profit that connects LGBTQ+ asylum claimants with sponsors. In the months following Drake’s arrival from Uganda, facets of his turbulent experiences and day-to-day challenges begin to parallel those of certain group members: Marlon also moved cities in order to live his life openly as a gay Black man; David struggles to find job security after grad school; and Kay’s gender transition presents a long and emotional road to personal freedom. As problems are compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, the group must ask themselves difficult questions about their capacity, their commitment, and the conditions of support. A substantive amount of the work includes meeting Drake’s immediate basic needs, but sustaining the necessary emotional and psychological assistance and mentorship over the next 12 months becomes the most delicate task.

Vancouver-based directors Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams’s feature documentary Someone Like Me takes a verité approach to the generous and rough-edged nuances of what it means to sponsor an asylum seeker. Chronicling the complexities of the journey taken by Drake and his sponsors, the filmmakers illuminate how survival itself becomes a victory in a world where one must constantly fight for the right to exist.

Save the date: A Q&A with directors Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams and special guests will be live streamed on Thursday, May 13th at 7:00 PM. Register here: https://buff.ly/3xtqZZI

This film will have a special DOXA Drive-In screening at the PNE Amphitheatre on May 14th at 5:30pm. For more information about DOXA Drive-In, click here. To purchase tickets for the Drive-In, click here.