How Contemporary Cinema Portrays Those Forced to Flee?
Presented by UNHCR
TIME
Tuesday, August 16th, 2022.
16:00 – 17:00 (CET)
LOCATION
Hotel Europe Atrium
Today, one in every 88 people in the world is forcibly displaced. This unfortunate situation requires attention, not only from political actors. By tapping into the heart of the purpose-drive, socially engaged film, questions arise: How can we provoke compassion? How can we raise the sense of individual responsibility in all of us – creators and viewers? Through three films, three case studies, ALONG THE WAY by Mijke de Jong, AS FAR AS I CAN WALK (STRAHINJA BANOVIC) by Stefan Arsenijević and WHEN WE WERE THEM by Danis Tanović and Damir Šagolj, we explore the representations of those who had to flee in the contemporary cinema.
Speakers
- Damir Šagolj - Photographer, journalist, and teacher / BA
- Stefan Arsenijević - Film director / RS
- Hugues Bissot - UNHCR Senior Protection / BE
- Natascha Erfanipour - Assistant Director and anthropologist / NL
Moderated by
- Danielle Turkov-Wilson - Founder and CEO, Think-film Impact Production / UK
DAMIR ŠAGOLJ
DAMIR ŠAGOLJ, born in 1971 in Sarajevo, is a Bosnian photographer, journalist and teacher. He completed power engineering studies in Moscow and Sarajevo but the Bosnian war and its total destruction meant a change in career for Damir. From 1992 he was in Sarajevo as a member of Bosnian army, until the end of the country's war four year later. In 1996 he briefly joined Paris based SIPA-press and then Reuters news agency as their Bosnia based photojournalist. For next 24 years Damir travelled the world and reported on major news stories for the agency – mostly on conflicts, civil and other disturbances and natural catastrophes, but also on contemporary issues, sport and other events. He lived in Russia, Thailand, China and spent many years in the Middle East. His work was recognised with industry’s major awards – the Pulitzer prize, World Press Photo, multiple POYi and SOPA among many others. He holds a master degree from the University of Arts in London. Currently, Damir lives in Sarajevo and teaches photography and contemporary documentary approach at the Sarajevo’s Academy of Performing Arts. He regularly holds lectures, masterclasses and workshops at various educational and professional organisations around the world, curates exhibitions and shoots movies. Damir also serves as the director of the WARM Foundation.
HUGUES BISSOT
HUGUES BISSOT, born in 1975 in Brussels, has been working for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency since 2003, assisting persons affected by conflicts around the world. Lawyer and anthropologist, he started his career at the bar of Brussels as attorney specialized in refugee and migration law and then moved to the deep field, in Central Asia and Central Africa, working for UNHCR or International NGOs. He is passionate about cinema, music and art. Before being in charge of the protection of refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he was living in Kyiv, Ukraine, where, in the evenings, after work, he managed to follow the film director course of the Ukrainian Film School and later on directed a short film, Rapprochement, introducing in a lyric way the disasters of the war in Ukraine and casualties of landmines.
NATASCHA ERFANIPOUR
NATASCHA ERFANIPOUR is an Assistant Director and translator for the movie Along the Way. As both of her parents are political refugees from Iran, she grew up with a natural understanding of the cultural sensitivities encountered among Iranian and Afghan refugees. Migration also became a focal point in her studies. Natascha is currently writing her master thesis in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam, in which she focuses on the role of Farsi interpreters in the co-creation of the refugee narrative in Dutch asylum hearings. Throughout her work she aims to shift the representation of refugees from victimhood to agency.
STEFAN ARSENIJEVIĆ
Born in Belgrade, Serbia in 1977, STEFAN ARSENIJEVIĆ graduated in film and TV directing from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, where he now teaches the Master’s course in film directing. His short film (A)TORSION (2003) received over 30 national and international awards, including the Golden Bear at Berlinale and the European Film Award, alongside an Oscar nomination. Arsenijević’s first feature LOVE AND OTHER CRIMES premiered at Berlinale in the Panorama Special section in 2008 and won several awards at international festivals. His second feature AS FAR AS I CAN WALK (STRAHINJA BANOVIĆ) premiered at Karlovy Vary main competition 2021, winning five awards: Crystal Globe for Best Film, Best Actor Award, Special Mention for Cinematography, Ecumenical Jury Prize and Europa Cinemas Label Award. Since 2015, he has been the program manager of Goethe-Institut’s professional training program for Southeast European film directors FIRST FILMS FIRST.
DANIELLE TURKOV WILSON
DANIELLE TURKOV WILSON is the founder & CEO of Think-Film Impact Production, an impact media organisation operating at the cutting-edge intersection of film and social change. Danielle and the Think-Film team work at the highest levels of policy and governance to use film as an inspiration and driving force to make a meaningful and measurable difference that is long lasting for communities. She forged the business from nothing, and in just over five years, has brought in contracts with Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning films and overall made a highly influential contribution to the “real” world, beyond the filmmaking industry. Impact credits include THE TERRITORY (NatGeo 2022), NAVALNY (CNN Films 2022), THE SCARS OF ALI BOULALA (Sisyfos Film 2021), THE CAVE (NatGeo 2019), DARK WATERS (Participant Media 2019), iHUMAN (UpNorth 2019).