DUBAI: The Arab Cinema Centre (ACC) held a sold-out panel titled “Displacement: Cinematic Perspectives,” at the 77th Cannes Film Festival’s Plage des Palmes.
The panel discussion — held in collaboration with the International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) — saw journalist Hadley Gamble engaging in a conversation with UNHCR goodwill ambassador and Australian actress Cate Blanchett, filmmaker Daniela Repas, and photographer Barat Ali Batoor in a session moderated by popular Lebanese host Raya Abirached.
The conversation aimed to shed light on the power of cinema in portraying and addressing the challenges of displacement.
Commenting on the necessity of ensuring refugees are properly represented on screen, Blanchett said: “People who are displaced have a voice, they have a story… Their stories are so incredible and inspiring. I’m always bewildered as to why more films don’t speak directly or obliquely to this,” adding that, “the more we exclude these voices from our narratives, the more we’re othering them.”
The IEFTA also collaborated with the ACC on this year’s edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films.
Launched in 2017 by the ACC at the Cannes Film Festival, the event provides a platform for a jury of more than 200 international film critics to honor the best of recent Arab cinema across numerous awards categories.