Blanchett’s Displacement Film Fund Screens First Shorts in Tokyo — SkimNews
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- Cate Blanchett launched the Displacement Film Fund in 2025 to support filmmakers who have experienced displacement, stating that one in 70 people worldwide are displaced and their stories deserve visibility
- Displacement Film Fund screened its first five short films at the Tokyo Film Festival: Rotation by Maryna Er Gorbach, Super Afghan Gym by Shahrbanoo Sadat, Allies in Exile by Hasan Kattan, Whispers of a Burning Scent by Mo Harawe, and Sense of Water by Mohammad Rasoulof
- Shahrbanoo Sadat directed Super Afghan Gym, a film exploring body image and social pressure among Afghan women, and emphasized that being displaced does not define a filmmaker’s identity or work
- Mohammad Rasoulof contributed Sense of Water, a short about an exiled Iranian writer struggling to learn a new language, reflecting on displacement as a lived but not defining experience
- Kōji Yakusho made a surprise appearance at the Q&A, praised the cohort’s balance and artistic strength, and expressed confidence in the fund’s future editions
- Rotterdam Film Festival’s Hubert Bals Fund serves as Management Partner of the DFF, with Founding Partners including Amahoro Coalition, Droom en Daad, Master Mind, the Tamer Family Foundation, and UNIQLO
- Displacement Film Fund announced its second cohort at Cannes Film Festival, featuring Mo Amer, Annemarie Jacir, Akuol de Mabior, Rithy Panh, and Bao Nguyen
Why it matters: The Displacement Film Fund shifts the narrative around refugee stories from victimhood to artistic agency, with major creative figures like Blanchett and Rasoulof ensuring these voices reach global platforms. This reframing gives displaced filmmakers control over their storytelling, altering who gets to represent displacement in cinema.
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