The Displacement Film Fund spearheaded by Cate Blanchett and managed by IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund unveils recipient filmmakers and projects for pilot scheme

Rotterdam – 8 May 2025 – Cate Blanchett, actor, producer and Global Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, together with IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund, today announced the five recipients of the Displacement Film Fund, a new short film grant scheme which was established to champion and fund the work of displaced filmmakers, or filmmakers with a proven track record in creating authentic storytelling about the experiences of displaced people. In this pilot version of the Fund – which is backed by a coalition of leading film industry experts, creators, business leaders and philanthropists – each of the nominated filmmakers will be bestowed with a production grant of €100,000. The completed projects will have their World Premieres at IFFR 2026. 

The five recipient filmmakers and their projects are: 

Filmmaker: Maryna Er Gorbach 

Er Gorbach is a Ukrainian filmmaker who writes, directs, produces and edits films. She won the directing award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival for her film ‘Klondike’.

Silk Road (working title)

Silk Road is a timely Ukraine–Europe road movie about a young Ukrainian woman whose family has been torn apart by war: while her children live in Europe, she and her husband remain in Kyiv, working in a children’s hospital as the war goes on.

Filmmaker: Mo Harawe 

Harawe is a Somali-Austrian filmmaker whose debut feature film, ‘The Village Next to Paradise’, was selected for the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. 

Whispers of a Burning Scent (working title)

On the day of a pivotal court hearing, a quiet man faces the unraveling of his marriage and the judgment of his stepchildren, while searching for solace in what once gave his life meaning.

Filmmaker: Hasan Kattan

Syrian filmmaker Kattan is best known for his work on ‘Last Men in Aleppo’, which was shortlisted for the Academy Awards and secured the prestigious Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. 

Allies in Exile (working title)

Two Syrian filmmakers, bound by a 14-year friendship forged in war, document their shared exile in the UK asylum system – until one is granted refuge and the other returns to a changed Syria, reflecting the impossible choices refugees face today.

Filmmaker: Mohammad Rasoulof 

Rasoulof is an Iranian independent filmmaker who was forced to flee to a safe house in Germany after being sentenced again by the Islamic Republic to eight years in prison, following the selection of his film ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’ in the main competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. The film, the fourth of his features to be selected by Cannes, went on to be nominated for an Academy Award.

Title TBD

After the death of an exiled writer, his family tries to fulfill his wish to be buried according to his will – but honouring his request leads to unexpected complications.

Filmmaker: Shahrbanoo Sadat

Sadat is an Afghan filmmaker, writer and producer based in Kabul who has recently fled to Germany. Her debut film ‘Wolf and Sheep’ won the top award in the 2016 Directors' Fortnight section at Cannes. 

Female Fitness of Kabul (working title)

Inside a crumbling Kabul gym, its walls covered with oiled muscle men and doors open to women for only a few hours each day, Afghan housewives in scarves and long dresses reclaim not just their bodies, but also their spirits, their bonds, and their sense of self.

This announcement comes ahead of a panel event on the Displacement Film Fund to be held as part of the Cannes Film Festival’s official programme taking place at 14.30 on Friday 23 May at the Palais des Festivals’ Press Conference room. The panel will feature Cate Blanchett alongside grant recipients Maryna Er Gorbach and Mo Harawe, and Rajendra Roy, Chief Curator of Film at the The Museum of Modern Art (NY). The discussion will be hosted by IFFR’s Managing Director, Clare Stewart and address the evolution and purpose of the fund, the recipient filmmakers and their projects, and wider industry actions in support of displaced filmmakers. Rajendra Roy is also Co-Chair of the International Film Award Executive Committee, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which recently announced  that Academy Award® eligibility for the Best International Feature Film Award has been expanded to include filmmakers with refugee or asylum status. 

Cate Blanchett said: “Displacement may disrupt careers, but for artists it doesn't diminish the drive to tell urgent, human stories. In a time of growing division, film offers a powerful counterforce to remind us of our shared humanity. I can’t wait to see what these exceptional filmmakers bring to life - whether addressing displacement directly, or exploring the universal threads that unite us.”

Clare Stewart, Managing Director IFFR, and Tamara Tatishvili, Head of the Hubert Bals Fund, said: “The Displacement Film Fund responds to the urgency of a growing global crisis, and is underpinned by a belief that film continues to be a force for positive change. In its pilot edition, the fund focuses on enabling five filmmakers, each with a proven track-record for visionary cinema, and each navigating their own personal experience of displacement. The HBF is committed to supporting funding that creates an impact, and the Displacement Film Fund aligns perfectly with the HBF’s mission and legacy. We are honoured to be entrusted with the management of this fund, and to work with these exceptional filmmakers to support the realisation of their projects.” 

Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate at Cannes Film Festival, added: "The Cannes Film Festival is proud and honoured to host the Displacement Film Fund panel, giving voice to artists whose journeys have been marked by exile and displacement. By embracing their perspectives, the Festival reaffirms — more than ever — its role as a refuge: a home for those who see cinema as a free and universal act, one that transmits, resists, and bears witness to the world around us."

For the Displacement Film Fund’s selection process, a longlist of filmmakers was determined by the Nominations Committee, which included founding members Cate Blanchett, Isaac Kwaku Fokuo, Echo Quan, Ke Huy Quan, Ayman Tamer, and Koji Yanai, together with Droom en Daad’s Wim Pijbes, IFFR’s Clare Stewart and HBF’s Tamara Tatishvili.

The Selection Committee, who then determined the final recipients, was chaired by Cate Blanchett and included 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.

The Founding Partners of the Displacement Film Fund’s pilot scheme are Master Mind, Uniqlo, Droom en Daad, the Tamer Family Foundation and Amahoro Coalition whose generous contributions enabled the scheme. The HBF is the Management Partner and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is supporting the project as Strategic Partner. 

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 – and established the Fund with a mission of giving visibility and bringing to the mainstream stories of displacement, while highlighting the diversity of displacement-related life experiences.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Press Contact: IFFR@ddaglobal.com

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett is an internationally acclaimed actor, 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.

Additional panelists
Rajendra Roy, The Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film, MoMA (NY)

In 2007, Rajendra Roy joined The Museum of Modern Art as The Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film, a role in which he leads MoMA’s year-round initiatives to exhibit and preserve works from its collection of over 30,000 titles and where, in collaboration with colleagues at MoMA and partner institutions, he has organized numerous exhibitions. Mr. Roy is a member of the selection committee for New Directors/New Films, presented annually with Film at Lincoln Center. He has served on juries for organizations such as the Sundance Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival and the Film Independent Spirit Awards. In addition, he serves on the National Film Preservation Board and co-chaired the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ International Feature Film Award Executive Committee from 2021-25.

Clare Stewart (moderator), IFFR Managing Director

Clare Stewart is the Managing Director at International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) since June 2023. In 2022, Clare was Interim CEO at Sheffield DocFest, the UK’s leading documentary festival. She was previously Director of BFI London Film Festival and BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival (2012-17); Festival Director, Sydney Film Festival (2006-2011), and the inaugural Head of Film Programmes at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (2002-2006). Clare was an elected member of the BAFTA Film Committee (2020-24), served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Advisory Council for the Creative Economies (2014-16), and is a previous recipient of the Women and Hollywood Trailblazer Award (2017).

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

Hubert Bals Fund

The Hubert Bals Fund is a Fund of 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 filmmaking and infrastructure is lacking or restrictive. The HBF has 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)

IFFR

International Film Festival Rotterdam’s (IFFR) upcoming 55th edition of the festival will take place from 29 January – 8 February 2026. 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

About 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.