The film tells the story of two migrant men who, after their release from prison, face a new form of punishment: continuous GPS surveillance enforced by the UK immigration system.The film explores the long-term effects of state control on the body, mind, and identity — from mandatory sign-ins, curfews, and exclusions to the psychological strain of indefinite monitoring. It exposes how deportability, stigma, and fear erode dignity and perpetuate a cycle of punishment without end.

No Release stands in solidarity with those targeted by intersecting systems of immigration control and criminal justice. It highlights how poverty, displacement, lack of citizenship, and the gendered and racialised construction of “risk” compound the punitive treatment of migrants. The film lays bare the machinery of surveillance and exclusion that inflicts suffering and makes rebuilding one’s life nearly impossible.

Produced by BÉZNĂ Theatre, an international political theatre company known for work confronting social violence, No Release was written and directed by Sînziana Cojocărescu.

The film No Release is based on research and interviews conducted by Dr Monish Bhatia as part of his project Immigration, Location Tracking and Control, funded by a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship.