UP Diliman (UPD) honored and shed a light on the plight of refugees worldwide with the Philippines’ first ever refugee film festival.

In celebration of World Refugee Day on June 20, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees Philippines office (UNHCR) will hold the Philippines’ Refugee Film Festival with the theme, Hope Away From Home.

According to the UNHCR, six films “featuring the extraordinary stories of the forcibly displaced” will be screened free of charge in partnership with the UPD Asian Center (AC) and the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) from June 20 to 22 at the Cine Adarna of the Film Institute of the UPD College of Mass Communication.

Opening the festival is Quezon’s Game on June 20. A film by Matthew Rosen, this follows the story of Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon and the rescue of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution in 1938.

Other films set to screen on the week of the film festival are Flee by Jonas Poher Rasmussen; Wandering, A Rohingya Story by Mélanie Carrier and Olivier Higgins; Captains of Zaatari by Ali El Arabi; A House in Pieces by Jean Claire Dy and Manuel Domes; and The Swimmers by Sally El Hosaini.

AC Dean Henelito Sevilla Jr. said while the Philippines has a long tradition of providing safety to refugees, there is a need to raise awareness about what he calls a “mounting global humanitarian crisis.”

“I hope that through this film festival, we are able to raise awareness about the stories and more importantly, how we can work together to give them hope even while we are far away from home,” he said.

To get free tickets to the festival, visit https://www.unhcr.org/ph/refugeefilmfestival or by scanning the QR code below:

In a related development, the UNHCR re-appointed journalist and UPD alumnus Alfonso Tomas “Atom” Araullo as National Goodwill Ambassador for the fourth straight year in a ceremony on May 30 at the AC Seminar Room.

Araullo began advocating for people forced to flee as a supporter in 2017 and was appointed the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in 2019. He joined the UNHCR field missions and protection monitoring work for internally displaced persons in Mindanao and visited refugee camps in Azraq, Jordan and Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh, where he contributed to the efforts of drawing attention to the Syrian and Rohingya refugee crises, respectively.

“We are grateful that Atom continues to lend his storytelling expertise to shine a light on the plight of refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced, and those who are stateless and at risk of statelessness,” said the UNHCR Philippines Head of National Office Maria Ermina Valdeavilla-Gallardo.

Also present at the ceremony were State Counsel Alden Luna of the Department of Justice – Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit, and PLCPD Executive Director Romeo Dongeto.