Cate Blanchett and IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund launch the Displacement Film Fund at IFFR 2025

Cate Blanchett and IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund launch the Displacement Film Fund at IFFR 2025 UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Blanchett announces new pilot scheme with support from Master Mind, Uniqlo, Droom en Daad, the Tamer Family Foundation and Amahoro Coalition as Founding Partners, HBF as Management Partner and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, as Strategic Partner

Nominations Committee includes founding members Cate Blanchett, Isaac Kwaku Fokuo, Echo Quan, Ke Huy Quan, Ayman Tamer, and Koji Yanai, together with IFFR’s Clare Stewart and HBF’s Tamara Tatishvili

Selection Committee will be chaired by Blanchett and includes Waad Al-Kateab, Cynthia Erivo, Agnieszka Holland, IFFR’s Vanja Kaludjercic, Aisha Khurram, Amin Nawabi, and Jonas Poher Rasmussen

Rotterdam – Tuesday 28 January 2025

Cate Blanchett, actrice, producer and global Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, together with the IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund today announced a new short film grant scheme which will benefit 5 filmmakers in its pilot version. Bestowing up to 5 individual production grants of €100,000 – the Displacement Film Fund is established to champion and fund the work of displaced filmmakers, or filmmakers with a proven track record in creating authentic storytelling on the experiences of displaced people.

The Fund – which is backed by a coalition of leading film industry experts, creators, business leaders and philanthropists – will be formally launched at IFFR’s 54th edition where Blanchett will appear on a panel on Saturday 1 February, 3.30pm with Koji Yanai, Waad Al- Kateab, Jonas Rasmussen and Head of HBF, Tamara Tatishvili, moderated by Uzma Hasan – to discuss the scheme’s origins, aims and the urgency of its focus. The purpose of the Fund strongly aligns with HBF’s history of supporting underrepresented voices, especially with filmmakers from countries where local filming and infrastructure is lacking or restrictive. The shared ambition is that the pilot project develops into a longer-term legacy.

With one in every 67 people on earth forcibly displaced due to conflict, war, or persecution, the global community is witnessing an unprecedented crisis. The Displacement Film Fund was first initiated at UNHCR's Global Refugee Forum, the world’s largest gathering dedicated to addressing challenges faced by refugees and their host communities. Cate Blanchett joined fellow UNHCR supporters Ke Huy Quan, Echo Quan, Ayman Tamer, Koji Yanai, and Isaac Kwaku Fokuo to develop the idea at the event. In order to deepen the insights, expertise and reach of the Fund, Blanchett sought out and recruited a wider group of film industry experts and creatives, all of whom have a personal connection and/or strong interest in the issue of forced displacement.

The Selection Committee will be chaired by Cate Blanchett and includes journalist and documentarian Waad Al Kateab (We Dare to Dream, For Sama), actor, producer and musician Cynthia Erivo (Wicked, Drift), director and screenwriter Agnieszka Holland (Green Border), IFFR Festival Director Vanja Kaludjercic, educator, activist and refugee Aisha Khurram, filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Flee), and Amin Nawabi [alias], an LGBTQ+ asylum seeker who is Jonas’ inspiration for the story of Flee. Filmmakers will be selected for the pilot Fund following a two-step process. A longlist of filmmakers will be determined by the Nominations Committee and then the Selection Committee will decide on final recipients with selected filmmakers announced during Cannes Film Festival 2025. The finished projects will have their World Premieres at IFFR 2026.

Cate Blanchett, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, said: “Film can drop you into the texture and realities of someone’s life like no other art form. Working with UNHCR I have engaged in both the large-scale impact and the vast statistics of forced displacement as an issue faced by millions of people – but I have also been fortunate to meet affected people directly and engage with their stories and experiences. It is this aim of creating personal, intimate touchpoints that the Displacement Film Fund is driven by. When people are forced to leave their homes, they lose access to the most basic support, but as artists they also lose access to the means to make work at a time when it is more vital than ever. I’m grateful to the Hubert Bals Fund and the coalition of supremely talented individuals we’ve gathered around this collective effort to step into that gap.”

Koji Yanai, Director of the Board of the Fast Retailing Group and Film Producer, said: “Chance can often be the mother of opportunity, and I'm grateful that my chance encounter with Cate, Quan and other refugee advocates at the Global Refugee Forum created an embryonic idea that is now coming to fruition thanks to the creativity, commitment and collaboration of such a diverse group of partners.

Both in my role at UNIQLO and as a film producer I believe passionately that film can change attitudes and have positive social impact. UNIQLO's corporate statement is ‘changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom, change the world’ and I am confident this new Fund has the potential to change and grow opportunities for displaced film makers, and in doing so drive awareness and empathy for refugees.”

Waad Al-Kateab, journalist and documentarian, said: “As someone who has lived through the challenges of displacement and experienced the transformative power of storytelling, I am deeply honoured to be part of this initiative. This project represents not only an opportunity to amplify underrepresented voices but also a vital step towards empowering filmmakers to share their stories of resilience, identity, and hope. I believe this process can create profound connections between communities and inspire meaningful change, and I’m proud to contribute to ensuring fairness and transparency in selecting these incredible talents.”

Clare Stewart, Managing Director IFFR, and Tamara Tatishvili, Head of The Hubert Bals Fund, said: “We are deeply proud that the framework HBF has created over the last three decades to support filmmakers across the globe making groundbreaking work in often hugely challenging environments, is trusted as the ideal management partner to enable this vital Fund. The dedication of the founding members of the Displacement Film Fund is inspiring, and we wholeheartedly support the vision to harness the power of film to articulate an experience faced by such a large portion of the world’s population. We stand with them in the efforts to give displaced filmmakers vital support and to raise awareness for stories of displacement.”

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett is an internationally acclaimed actrice, producer, humanitarian and advocate for climate solutions. She is a Global Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and is a member of the Earthshot Prize Council.

Blanchett has won numerous awards including two Academy Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes and three Screen Actors Guild awards.

She is the Co-Founder and Principal of production company Dirty Films, (alongside partners Andrew Upton and Coco Francini).

Blanchett has presided over festival juries in Cannes, Venice and Poland’s Camerimage. She holds a BFI Fellowship from the BFI London Film Festival, has received the Stanley Kubrick Award for Excellence in Film. Numerous other accolades include the Honorary Cesar, International Goya, Chaplin and Donostia Awards. She has been appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France, and named a Companion of the Order of Australia.

Founding Partners

Koji Yanai / Master Mind

Koji Yanai is a Director of the Board of the Fast Retailing Group. He oversees sustainability communications for the Group as well as UNIQLO global marketing. In his personal capacity he is a film producer and founded MASTER MIND Ltd which as part of its social impact activities conceived The Tokyo Toilet project, out of which Koji produced the Oscar nominated film Perfect Days directed by Wim Wenders.

About UNIQLO and Fast Retailing

UNIQLO is a brand of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., one of the world’s largest apparel retail companies.

UNIQLO has a long-standing commitment to supporting forcibly displaced people. It began working with UNHCR in 2006, providing clothing assistance for refugees and displaced persons around the world, and making support for refugees one of the key components of its sustainability program. In 2011, UNIQLO became the first company based in Asia to enter into a global partnership with the UNHCR. Along with sending used clothing items collected through its product recycling initiative to refugee camps, UNIQLO provides a wide range of assistance, including refugee self-reliance programs, employing refugees in UNIQLO stores, and conducting refugee awareness campaigns.

Droom en Daad

The Droom en Daad foundation was founded in 2016. It is helping redefine Rotterdam for the 21st century - developing new kinds of arts and culture institutions and fostering new creative talent that reflects the city's diversity, its spirit and its history.

The Tamer Family Foundation

The Tamer Family Foundation is a Swiss Charitable Foundation established in 2016 by members of the Tamer Family to support charitable works globally by offering donations for Medical assistance, Child Welfare, Food assistance, Education sponsorships, Culture & Art, Environment, and Global Emergencies. It regularly enters into agreements with different NGOs and other Foundations, such as UNHCR, WHO, King Hussein Cancer Foundation, Christie’s Art Exhibitions, etc. offering charitable donations to support individuals and societies affected by war, famine, earthquakes, and other emergencies.

Amahoro Coalition

Established in 2019, Amahoro Coalition is the leading convener of African private sector leaders for social impact. We provide tailored solutions to the private sector, enabling them to tap into the African demographic dividend, including in vulnerable settings like displaced communities. The coalition also works closely with young leaders, including those in displaced communities, through strategic connections with the private sector to co- create breakthrough opportunities for all. We are committed to our continued partnership with the UNHCR to mobilize multi-sector actors to advance the efforts of the private sector in the displacement space. https://amahorocoalition.com/

Management Partners

About The Hubert Bals Fund

The Hubert Bals is an Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), established in 1988, which supports groundbreaking film projects in every stage of the production process. The HBF has a special focus on filmmakers from countries where local film ing and infrastructure is lacking or restrictive. The HBF’s to date has supported over 1,100 film projects, many of which have premiered at major film festivals and received significant critical acclaim. Recent HBF projects include Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light, Baby by Marcelo Caetano, Tato Kotetishvili’s Holy Electricity, and To a Land Unknown by Mahdi Fleifel.

About IFFR (International Film Festival Rotterdam)

International Film Festival Rotterdam’s (IFFR) upcoming 54th edition of the festival will take place from 30 January – 9 February 2025. IFFR presents a leading international film festival and year-round programme and actively supports new and adventurous filmmaking talent through its co-production market CineMart, its Hubert Bals , Rotterdam Lab and other industry activities.

IFFR seeks to expand, enrich and challenge people’s views of the world and each other through film and audiovisual arts. IFFR’s programme deepens appreciation of cinema in all its forms, broadens and diversifies audiences, and creates opportunities for independent filmmakers and artists from around the globe.

IFFR is grateful to Houthoff for additional support on this initiative.

Strategic Partner

UNHCR

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is the global leader in protecting people forced to flee due to conflict and persecution. The organisation provides life-saving assistance, safeguards fundamental human rights, and works to find lasting solutions so refugees and displaced people can rebuild their lives in safety and dignity.

About The Global Refugee Forum

The Displacement Film Fund was initiated at UNHCR’s Global Refugee Forum, the largest international gathering dedicated to addressing challenges faced by refugees and their host communities. Convened every four years, the Forum brings together UN Member States, private sector leaders, and civil society to find innovative solutions for displaced populations.