UNHCR’s 12th Charity Refugee Film Festival

Hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the 12th Charity Refugee Film Festival seeks to “raise awareness about the plight of refugees and to mobilise support for people who have been forced to flee their homes”. The refugee crisis is captured in headlines globally, but film is a powerful medium that can help present new perspectives on this subject that is too often misunderstood or misrepresented. Coinciding with World Refugee Day (Thursday, 20 June), the festival will take place from Thursday, 13 June to Sunday, 23 June across various cinema locations and all proceeds will go towards supporting the needs of unaccompanied refugee children.

This year, the movies are:

• “Kakuma My City”, directed by Harrison Thane and filmed by Abdul Patient (filmmaker and a refugee!), is a documentary about building communities of mutual support and respect, as told by the communities themselves. The crew was formed by a group of refugees and trainees wishing to tell their stories through the lenses.
• “Easy Lessons“, directed by Dorottya Zurbórecords, is about a 17-year-old who escaped from a child marriage in Somalia and has been living in a state children’s home in Budapest ever since. Her repetitive daily routine revolves around constant dilemmas and self-doubt about leaving behind her Muslim culture and everything else she grew up with.
• “Capernaum”, directed by Nadine Labaki, is a Cannes Film Festival award-winning film that features a refugee child as the main actor and explores the issue of children’s rights. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.

Image courtesy of Harrison Thane