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French drama chronicling the relationship between an illegal Kurdish immigrant from Iraq and a French swimming instructor. Bilal (Firat Ayverdi) is a 17-year-old Kurdish immigrant who ends up - along with countless other migrants from countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia - stranded in Calais after numerous attempts to reach Britain to reunite with his girlfriend. Eventually Bilal decides that the only way he will ever make it to Britain is by swimming the English Channel. While training at the local pool he meets former swimming champion turned instructor Simon (Vincent Lindon). Hoping to impress his estranged wife, Simon takes Bilal into his home - a decision that causes conflict with his neighbours and the local authorities, who invoke a law that gives them the power to detain anyone caught assisting illegal immigrants.

A young Kurdish refugee finds friendship from an unlikely source in WELCOME, writer-director Philippe Lioret's dramatic chronicle of intersecting lives. The tale unfurls in Calais, a seaside community in the north of France where one can glimpse the white cliffs of Dover, England with the naked eye. Vincent Lindon stars as Simon, a local swimming instructor privately reeling in turmoil because he dreads an imminent divorce from his wife (Audrey Dana). Soon, his path unexpectedly criss-crosses with that of Bilal (Firat Ayverdi), a 17-year-old Kurdish refugee with two aspirations: swim the English Channel, and join his girlfriend in England following a lengthy separation. Despite their differing ages, the two men discover that they have a fair amount in common, and soon forge a tight bond marked by similar goals.