Cate Blanchett's Film Fund Partners With The New Yorker to Release Five Short Films on Displacement

Cate Blanchett's Displacement Film Fund is partnering with The New Yorker to release five short films that explore themes of exile, identity, and belonging. ## Inaugural Slate And Release Plan The first group of films features works by Mohammad Rasoulof, Shahrbanoo Sadat, Mo Harawe, Maryna Er Gorbach, and Hasan Kattan. These projects follow their world premieres at the 2026 International Film Festival Rotterdam. The films will come out every week on The New Yorker website and YouTube channel, starting with Kattan's documentary "Allies in Exile" on November 9. New York's Film Forum theater will host screenings of the full slate on November 11, featuring Blanchett in a conversation with a New Yorker editor, alongside Er Gorbach and Harawe. The curated collection includes both fiction and documentary works. Each of the five inaugural projects received a €100,000 production grant from the fund, which was established last year to support displaced filmmakers. These films were recently shown at the BFI London Film Festival and have upcoming screenings at the Sao Paulo International Film Festival and the Tokyo International Film Festival. ## Filmmakers And Project Details Kattan and Fadi Al Halabi's documentary "Allies in Exile" follows two Syrian journalists navigating immigration systems and anti-refugee hostility after a 14-year friendship surviving war. Er Gorbach's scripted film "Rotation" centers on a young Ukrainian woman undergoing therapeutic hypnosis while adjusting to military service and wartime life. Rasoulof's "Sense of Water" follows an exiled Iranian writer struggling to write in a foreign language. Sadat's "Super Afghan Gym" takes place in a Kabul gym during a women-only hour where housewives exercise and share stories. Harawe's "Whispers of a Burning Scent" follows a musician preparing for a wedding while awaiting a court hearing that threatens his private life. ## Fund Backers And Future Plans The fund's founding partners are Master Mind, UNIQLO, Droom en Daad, the Tamer Family Foundation, and Amahoro Coalition, with the SP Lohia Foundation joining as a major partner in 2026. Management partners include the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Hubert Bals Fund. The Displacement Film Fund has also picked a second group of filmmakers, including Mohammed Amer, Annemarie Jacir, Akuol de Mabior, Bao Nguyen, and Rithy Panh, whose films will premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in January. ## Context With millions of people globally displaced by conflict and war, cultural initiatives often use storytelling to highlight the human realities behind political refugee crises. Independent film funds and grants help artists share personal perspectives from regions affected by war and persecution with international audiences.