Cate Blanchett's Displacement Film Fund Premieres Five Short Films at IFFR 2026

The Displacement Film Fund, spearheaded by actor and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett, premiered its inaugural slate of five short films at the 55th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) on January 30, 2026. The fund, launched in 2025, aims to support displaced filmmakers or those with a proven track record in depicting the experiences of displaced individuals.

The selected filmmakers each received a €100,000 grant to produce their short films. The premieres included:

• Allies in Exile by Hasan Kattan (United Kingdom): This 40-minute film documents the experiences of Syrian filmmakers Hasan Kattan and Fadi Al-Halabi as they navigate life in a UK asylum hotel, juxtaposing their current confinement with past footage from war-torn Aleppo.

• Rotation by Maryna Er Gorbach (Ukraine, Turkey): A 12-minute therapeutic hypnosis ritual experienced by a young Ukrainian woman transitioning from civilian life to military service, exploring her adaptation to a new reality.

• Super Afghan Gym by Shahrbanoo Sadat (Afghanistan): A comedy about women of all ages who gather semi-surreptitiously in a Kabul gym to hang out and work out, inspired by the director's own experience of exercising in Kabul.

• Whispers of a Burning Scent by Mo Harawe (Somalia-Austria): A mysterious tale of a young keyboard player in a Mogadishu wedding band who is arrested for fraud, exploring themes of identity and morality.

• Sense of Water by Mohammad Rasoulof (Iran): An account of an exiled Iranian writer in Germany who falls in love with his translator, grappling with language and identity.

Cate Blanchett emphasized the fund's mission to provide displaced filmmakers with the means to share their stories, stating, "Film can drop you into the texture and realities of someone’s life like no other art form."

The Displacement Film Fund was established in collaboration with IFFR's Hubert Bals Fund and supported by partners including Master Mind, Uniqlo, Droom en Daad, the Tamer Family Foundation, and the Amahoro Coalition. The initiative aligns with the Hubert Bals Fund's history of supporting underrepresented voices, particularly from regions lacking robust filmmaking infrastructure.