Film Festival: The Refugee Experience on Film

Many undergo strenuous journeys to seek asylum and a better life elsewhere. Understanding the refugee experience has become more important than ever, and film offers a unique medium for telling the stories of refugees.Screening of three short films about the refugee experience and a panel discussion with experts, policymakers, and refugees. The discussion will be followed by a reception catered by refugee chefs of the SoPhiE food Truck and breakout sessions with local resettlement agencies and NGOs working on these pressing issues.

Speakers: Peter Decherney is Professor of Cinema & Media Studies and English at the University of Pennsylvania; ZarZo Lian is an outreach worker with SEAMAAC; Cathryn Miller-Wilson, Executive Director of HIAS Pennsylvania; Jocelyn Perry is the Global Shifts Program Manager at Perry World House; Anne Richard former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration in the Obama Administration (2012-2017).

Sponsors: Perry World House, TD Bank, PBS Point of View

Partners: Cinema & Media Studies Program at Penn University, African Family Health Organization; Bridge; HIAS Pennsylvania; Nationalities Service Center; Refugee Congress; Penn FilmAid; SEAMAAC

Location: Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Photos: Courtesy of Perry World House