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REFUGEE WEEK 2009 - NEWS RELEASE

18th June 2009

RefugeeYouth, Nueva Generacion and Refugee Action bring a collection of films about exile to BFI Southbank
on 16 - 22 June.

The BFI Southbank marks National Refugee Week with a series of award-winning and moving films about exile and will host Refuge in Films, a weekend of films and events curated by young refugees.

Refugee Week celebrates the UK's history of providing sanctuary to people fleeing human rights abuses and their contribution to the UK. As part of their Simple Acts campaign, audiences are being urged to 'watch a film about refugees' - just one of the 20 small everyday actions that can be carried out by all in a bid to inspire people to change perceptions of refugees. Between Tuesday 16 and Sunday 21 June, a selection of thought-provoking and award-winning features, short films, interactive workshops and panel discussions with refugees and filmmakers will take place at BFI Southbank.

The programme will include the UK Premiere of Emmy award winning documentary, Made in LA (2007) (curated as part of the Refuge in Films festival) that follows a group of Latina immigrants working in LA garment sweatshops and their battle for basic labour rights. The week will also feature the UK premiere of The Fortress (2008), which won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno festival in 2008 and which investigates the hidden world of a Swiss reception centre for asylum seekers. Following the June 16 screening of The Fortress will be a panel discussion around the depiction of refugees in film that will feature well known film directors and people who have fled their country. During the day, Refugee Action will host a tea party with refugees and a display of award-winning photography in the delegate centre.

Over the course of the week, there will also be an opportunity to see Ellen Kuras’ (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) Oscar nominated documentary, The Betrayal (2008). Curated as part of the Refuge in Films festival, it is a film 20 years in the making that follows a Laotian family who have sought refuge in an unwelcoming Brooklyn, New York. There will also be screenings and a discussion with Mohamed Maklouf, film director and exile.

For younger viewers The Future Film Institute will hand over its programming of films and events to the Refuge in Films festival throughout the weekend of 19-21 June. The festival is curated by young people from New Generation and Refugee Youth, who come from 19 different countries. They have put together an amazing programme to celebrate Refugee Week. A series of visual workshops and performances will also be taking place over the weekendas well as the launch of Becoming a Londoner, a book produced by young people about their experiences of the process of becoming part of their new city. In the Mediatheque, there will be a special collection jointly curated by The Future Film Institute and Refuge in Film who will also co-host the monthly Future Film discussion group during the weekend.

For further information and interview opportunities please contact:
Tim Mosley on 020 7957 8918 or email tim.mosley@bfi.org.uk

PROGRAMME

The Fortress (La Forteresse)
Switzerland 2008. Dir Fernand Melgar. 104min. EST
For the first time, a camera looks into the hidden world of a Swiss reception centre for asylum seekers and immerses us in the daily sorting process of the human diaspora. Awarding it the Golden Leopard, the Locarno festival jury cited 'a remarkably sensitive film exhibiting profound human intelligence. Discreetly and masterfully realised, but never voyeuristic, and with a message that is directly and evocatively conveyed.'

Tue 16 June 18:30 NFT1*, Sun 21 June 13:00 NFT2
*Screening followed by a panel discussion

This film is presented by Refugee Action and will be shown at other independent cinemas in Bristol and Nottingham during Refugee Week.

Exile: Dreams and Nightmares
Screening and workshop with director Mohamed Maklouf.
Films featured will include Home in Exile (2007, 22min), a documentary exploring the experience of Libyan refugees in Europe and the US, and Who’s Afraid of the Censor?, a look into the world of Egyptian independent cinema (2008, 11min), both produced by Al Jazeera International. The session will finish with the independently produced film The Cage (2005, 13min) exploring the personal impact of exile.

Sat 20 June 13:00 NFT2

Made in LA
USA 2007. Dir Almudena Carracedo. 70min. EST
An Emmy award-winning feature documentary that follows the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops and their battle to win basic labour protections from a clothing retailer. In intimate, observational style, the film reveals the impact of the struggle on each woman’s life as they are gradually transformed by the experience. Compelling, humorous, deeply human, Made in LA is a story about immigration, the power of unity, and the courage it takes to find your voice.

Sat 20 June 15:30 NFT2
Followed by a discussion with a No Sweat activist.

The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
USA 2008. Dir Ellen Kuras & Thavisouk Phrasavath. 96min. EST
During the Vietnam War, the US government waged a secret war in neighbouring Laos. When they withdrew, Laotian supporters of the Americans faced imprisonment or execution. One family, the Phrasavaths, decided to take refuge in America. In Brooklyn they faced another kind of war. Director Ellen Kuras (cinematographer of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and co-director Thavisouk Phrasaveth (eldest son of the refugee family portrayed) worked for 20 years to create this beautifully realised, complex film, which received an Oscar nomination for best documentary feature 2008.

Sun 21 June 15:50 NFT2
followed by a discussion led by a group of young refugees from Refuge in Films

The Future Film Institute presents: Refuge in Films weekend
RefugeeYouth and Nueva Generacion curate a weekend of arts and animation workshops and films for the Refuge in Films Festival 200 throughout BFI Southbank that will include the launch of the Becoming a Londoner book.

Fri 19 – Sun 21 Jun

For further information on times and venues please see www.bfi.org.uk/southbank or call the box office: 020 7928 3232

Notes:

• The BFI Southbank Refugee Week screenings take place from 16 - 21 June. Refugee Week runs from 15-21 June
  
  For further information about Refugee Week please contact:
  
  Esme Peach on 020 7654 0673
  or email EsmeP@refugee-action.org.uk
  
  Julia Ravenscroft on 0161 233 1956
  or email JuliaR@refugee-action.org.uk
  
  www.refugee-action.org.uk
• For further information about Refuge in Films please contact:
  
  Beatriz Villate on 07903494703
  or email refugeinfilms@gmail.com
  
  www.myspace.com/refugeinfilms
• About Refugee Week
  www.refugeeweek.org.uk
  
  Refugee Week (15th-21st June) is a countrywide programme of events including concerts, film screenings, debates and exhibitions that celebrate the UK's history of providing sanctuary to people fleeing human rights abuses and their contribution to the UK.
  
  Refugee Week is an initiative supported by charities including Amnesty International, The Children's Society, The Red Cross, Refugee Action and Oxfam, and arts institutions including the British Film Institute and the Southbank Centre.
  
  Refugee Week seeks to raise awareness of the reasons refugees come to the UK and the reality of their lives here.
• Simple Acts campaign
  www.refugeeweek.org.uk/simple-acts
  
  This year the Refugee Week partnership is launching the Simple Acts campaign, which is about inspiring individuals to use small, everyday actions to change perceptions of refugees. It consists of 20 actions that can be done by anyone and that encourage us to learn about and interact with refugees.
  
  The actions were chosen from ideas submitted from people across the UK, including Helen Fielding, Michael Bond and Michael Palin. The final list includes cooking a dish from another country, smiling at a stranger, and having a cup of tea with a refugee.
  
  This year, people all over the UK are being encouraged to do one of the 20 Simple Acts that will make a big difference to how refugees are welcomed to our country. Every Simple Act – from learning a few words in another language to playing a game of football with local refugees - will be contributed to on an online total at refugeeweek.org.uk so people can see what a big impact they are making collectively.
  
  Almir Koldzic, the coordinator of National Refugee Week, said: “This year hundreds of actions will make a big difference to the lives of those who have fled persecution and war. Every positive gesture - no matter how insignificant it seems – will add up to affect the lives of people seeking sanctuary in our communities.”
• Refugee Action and 'Watch a movie about refugees'
  
  To give as many people as possible the chance to ‘watch a movie about exile’, Refugee Action is working with independent cinemas such as the BFI in London, Broadway cinema in Nottingham and the Arnolfini in Bristol to organise screenings of films that explore the reality of the refugee experience.
  
  Refugee Action is encouraging cinemas and film societies to get involved by:
  
  organising screenings of films about exile or about countries people flee from, such as Iran and Afghanistan
  organising screenings of films by refugee directors, such as Luis Bunuel or Billy Wilder supporting post-screening discussions and Q and As in collaboration with refugee charities
  
  Throughout the week, Refugee Action will be encouraging its supporters to inspire friends, relatives and colleagues to learn more about refugees by inviting them to screenings at participating cinemas or creating their very own home cinema night by renting a film about exile from local videoshops and libraries.
  
  Sandy Buchan, Chief Executive of Refugee Action, said, "For most of us, it is very hard to imagine what it's like to flee war and persecution, leave behind your home, your career and friends, and start to rebuild your life in a new country. It is this lack of understanding that can often lead to hostility towards newcomers.
  
  " Films about the refugee experience can help bridge that gap. Whether they’re documentaries or dramas, films provide a window into the reality of refugees’ lives. Films such as La Forteresse shed light on the journeys of hope that refugees make to Europe and intricacies of the legal system they must navigate to qualify for permission to stay."
  
  “Every day at Refugee Action we are touched by the extraordinary stories of survival we hear from the refugees we work with. Through our Refugee Week film screenings, we hope that these stories will touch many more people across England and inspire them to reach out to refugees."
  
  Sysay, a refugee from Eritrea and manager of a project supporting refugees, said, 'Watching a movie about refugees is a Simple Act everyone can do to learn more about the situations refugees flee from and what they go through when they seek asylum. If people don’t know what we have suffered and survived, then of course they will have misconceptions. When I talk to British people about my life, what I have been through, then they understand. I think films can play a similar role. They can bring the voices of refugees like me to people that would otherwise not hear us.'
• Refugee Action
  www.refugee-action.org.uk
  
  Refugee Action is an independent, national charity working to enable refugees to build new lives in the UK. We provide practical advice and assistance for newly arrived asylum seekers and long-term commitment to their settlement through community development work, and received 30,000 visits from asylum seekers last year. As one of the country’s leading agencies in the field, Refugee Action has 27 years’ experience in pioneering innovative work in partnership with refugees.
• About Refuge in Film 2009
  www.refugeeyouth.org
  www.nuevageneracion-uk.org
  
  For the third year running, Nueva Generation in partnership with RefugeeYouth presents Refuge in Films 2009. Refuge in Films festival is dedicated to raising awareness about refugee and migrant issues. In 2009, the festival is being entirely developed by a group of young people. By giving a voice to young refugees, the festival will address issues of representation of refugees and migrants in the film industry and will be a space of celebration, contributing to a more tolerant society. Refuge in films 2009 has developed a Film Challenge in which young people have produced short films about immigration and refuge in collaboration with professional filmmakers and Grain Media.
  
  The opening of Refuge in Films 2009 will take place on June 19, at the delegate centre, where the films produced by young people especially for the festival as part of our film challenge will be screened RefugeeYouth will launch Becoming a Londoner a book produced by young people, about their own experiences in the process to become part of their new city. With dance and music performances taking place, it will be a night in which young people form different communities in London will get together to share their diversity.
• About The Future Film Institute
  
  The Future Film Institute meet weekly and decide what films and events to programme for young people at the BFI. Members of the Future Film Institute get the opportunity to work with industry professionals in areas like decision making, programming, events management and marketing. If you are aged 15-25 and want to apply to join the Future Film Institute email us at futurefilm@bfi.org.uk - we'll be considering new applications soon.
• Future Film Club
  From Autumn 2009 you'll be able to join the Future Film Club and get access to cheap and free film screenings, events and activities, as well as access to exclusive online content, opportunities and competitions. To register your interest, email us at futurefilm@bfi.org.uk
• Booking information
  The BFI Southbank is open to all. BFI members are entitled to a discount on all tickets. BFI Southbank Box Office tel: 020 7928 3232. Unless otherwise stated tickets are £8.60, concs £6.25 Members pay £1 less on any ticket. www.bfi.org.uk/southbank
• There’s more to discover about film and television through the BFI. Our world-renowned archival collections, cinemas, festivals, films, publications and learning resources are here to inspire you.
• *** PICTURE DESK ***
  A selection of images for journalistic use in promoting BFI Southbank screenings can be found at www.image.net/BFI/BFI Southbank/June

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