Skip to main content
News - 
Global

Second Annual Global Migration Film Festival Concludes as ‘The Journey’ Wins First Prize

Geneva – The second annual Global Migration Film Festival drew to a close in Geneva last night (18/12) on International Migrants Day. Of the 300 films submitted to the Film Festival, The Journey, directed by the filmmaker Matthew Cassel in collaboration with Field of Vision, was awarded first prize in the professional filmmaker category. The six-part documentary explores the dangerous paths Syrian asylum seekers take to get to Europe. 

From Guyana in South America to South Sudan in East Africa (and many other places in between) filmmakers from around the globe showcased their skills as cinematographers during the Film Festival. Organized by IOM, the UN Migration Agency, the Festival spanned over 13 days with 30 specially selected films being screened in over 100 different countries across a range of different venues from displacement camps and migrant centres to university campuses and arthouse cinemas. 

“Films have the power to illluminate the different facets of life. They can inform, inspire, transform and promote inclusion,” said Laura Thompson, UN Migration Agency Deputy Director General. "For example, in The Deportation of Innocence we see how deportation affects the lives of the children left behind, in In Search of the Riyal we explore the world of Nepali migrants in the Gulf and in When I’m There we get a real sense of the positive contributions of the Moroccan community living in the Netherlands,” said Ambassador Thompson.

The Cambridge Squatter, directed by Eliane Caffé, which follows the trials, tribulations and triumphs of homeless people and refugees living in an abandoned Sao Paolo hotel, took second prize. Sans le Kosovo, directed by Dea Gjinovci, which is a short documentary about the life of a man who fled Kosovo in the late 1960's, was third. Dem Dem, directed by Marc Recchia, Christophe Rolin and Pape Bouname Lopy was awarded the Le Prix Spécial du Jury. 

An important category in the Film Festival was that of emerging filmmakers. In that category, prizes were awarded to It Has Killed My Mother, directed by Amina Rwimo; The Deportation of Innocence, directed by Francisco Alarcón; and La Jerusalem Argentina by Ivan Cherjovsky and Melina Serber.  

“Films truly build deeper empathy for migrants and a better understanding of their realities, needs, perspectives and capacities. Our Film Festival uses film as educational tools to influence attitudes towards migrants in a positive way, highlighting their overall contributions to society and the struggles that many face in today’s world on the move,” said Ambassador Thompson.

Special mentions were also given to: Misafir a Guest, directed by Mariam el Marakeshy; The Lucky Specials, directed by Rea Rangaka; and Amerika Square directed by Yannis Sakaridis. 

The Festival was made possible through the support of global partners such as DHL, Aware Migrants Campaign funded by the German Government, the IOM Development Fund and PLURAL+.

For more information, please contact, Joel Millman at IOM HQ, Tel: +41 79 103 8720, Email: jmillman@iomi.int

Share this page via:

Regions
Office type
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Asia and the Pacific
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas (The)
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Central African Republic (the)
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros (the)
Congo (the)
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czechia
Democratic Republic of the Congo (the)
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic (the)
East and Horn of Africa
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Europe and Central Asia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia (the)
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Global Office in Brussels
Global Office in Washington
Greece
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
IOM Office at the United Nations
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Iraq
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic (the)
Latin America and the Caribbean
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Manila Administrative Centre
Marshall Islands (the)
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Middle East and North Africa
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
New Zealand
Niger (the)
Nigeria
North Macedonia
Norway
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Panama Administrative Centre
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines (the)
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Republic of Korea
Republic of Moldova (the)
Romania
Russian Federation (the)
Rwanda
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Subregional Office in Brussels
Subregional Office in Pretoria
Sudan (the)
Sweden
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic (the)
Tajikistan
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Türkiye
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
United Republic of Tanzania (the)
UNSC Resolution 1244-Administered Kosovo
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Viet Nam
West and Central Africa
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe