Love Child: Asylum Policy and U.S. Law

With adultery being punishable by death in Iran, a young couple make the fateful decision to flee the country with their son Mani. Love Child is an intimate love story about an illicit family on a journey to seek asylum in Turkey and start a new life. Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival.

Because Danish filmmaker, Eva Mulvad, documented their complicated and frustrating journey for six years, Love Child provides a case study that students can examine. In this lesson, students will consider American immigration practices and policies and take on the role of the immigration judge, studying relevant ethics and laws, and then providing a written “verdict” on whether Leila, Sahand, and Mani should be permitted to resettle in the U.S.

Faith Rogow, Ph.D., is the co-author of The Teacher’s Guide to Media Literacy: Critical Thinking in a Multimedia World (Corwin, 2012) and past president of the National Association for Media Literacy Education. She has written discussion guides and lesson plans for more than 250 independent films.