Sanctuary profiles four religious sanctuary providers in Canada and the people they help at different stages of their sanctuary experience. The film interweaves the experiences of these deeply committed individuals in order to better understand the nature of sanctuary in Canada, the diversity of Muslim, Sikh and Christian religious perspectives, and the various challenges they face in their quest to help restore dignity to the lives of people trapped by bureaucracy. Looking at sanctuary through their eyes, the film conveys the meaning of the relationships behind cases of sanctuary, and restores some humanity to stories of people treated as stereotypes in the popular media. The film serves as an important document of the beginnings of an unprecedented Canadian sanctuary movement that is confronting what many call a failing refugee determination system.