DUBAI: Cate Blanchett returned to the Cannes Film Festival this week to unveil the second cohort of filmmakers selected for the Displacement Film Fund, a global initiative supporting stories shaped by migration, exile and forced displacement.
The Oscar-winning actor and UNHCR Global Goodwill Ambassador appeared at Cannes alongside US Palestinian comedian and filmmaker Mo Amer and acclaimed Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir, whose projects are among five new films selected for the initiative. Also joining the 2026 cohort are filmmakers Akuol de Mabior, Bao Nguyen and Rithy Panh.
First announced during UNHCR’s Global Refugee Forum and officially launched last year, the fund supports filmmakers whose work explores displacement and identity through short-form cinema. Each selected director will receive a production grant of $116,000, with the completed films premiering at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2027.
“Our first round of DFF shorts have been met with huge enthusiasm from both the industry and our partners, while challenging expectations about what stories of displacement can look like on screen,” Blanchett said, according to Variety. “The short form is a fantastic medium for these narratives.”
Among the Arab voices selected this year is Amer, best known internationally for his semi-autobiographical Netflix series “Mo.” His upcoming short film, currently titled “Return to Sender,” follows a Palestinian stand-up comedian navigating increasingly surreal immigration barriers after finally receiving refugee travel documents for an international tour.
Jacir, one of the Arab world’s most celebrated independent filmmakers, was also selected for her project “Deconstruction.” Set in the Palestinian city of Haifa, the film explores memory, reinvention and erasure in a place shaped by overlapping histories and identities. Jacir previously gained international recognition through films including “Palestine 26,” “Salt of This Sea,” and “When I Saw You.”
The filmmakers were chosen through a two-stage selection process involving industry figures including Syrian journalist and “For Sama” director Waad Al-Kateab and Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan.
