OUR SUPPORT FOR THE DISPLACEMENT FILM FUND

The Displacement Film Fund supports displaced filmmakers, as well as filmmakers with a proven track record of authentically portraying the experiences of displaced people. Established and co-led by Cate Blanchett, actor, producer and Global Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, the Fund was launched at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2025 and is managed by IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund. Founded with the support of MASTER MIND, UNIQLO, Droom en Daad, the Tamer Family Foundation and the Amahoro Coalition as founding partners, the Fund is also supported by the SP Lohia Foundation as a major partner. The Hubert Bals Fund serves as the operational partner, and UNHCR as the strategic partner. The initiative launched as a program to provide short film production grants. ​

As a founding partner, UNIQLO contributed €100,000 to the Displacement Film Fund in 2025 and a further €100,000 in 2026. Through its support for displaced filmmakers, UNIQLO aims to bring together its “Made for All” philosophy and the power of film to amplify the stories of refugees and displaced people, while creating opportunities to raise awareness of and engagement with refugee issues. ​

Displacement Film Fund filmmakers, from left to right: Hasan Kattan, Maryna Er Gorbach (credit: Rafal Nowak), Mohammad Rasoulof, Shahrbanoo Sadat, Mo Harawe The filmmakers and projects to be supported by this pilot round of the Displacement Film Fund were announced on 8 May 2025. The five short film production grants will be bestowed to Maryna Er Gorbach (Ukraine), Mo Harawe (Somalia), Hasan Kattan (Syria), Mohammad Rasoulof (Iran), and Shahrbanoo Sadat (Afghanistan).

Filmmakers presented their work during the world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 30, 2026.

Allies in Exile - Hasan Kattan

Rotation - Maryna Er Gorbach

Sense of Water - Mohammad Rasoulof

Super Afghan Gym - Shahrbanoo Sadat

Whispers of a Burning Scent - Mo Harawe

At the 79th Cannes Film Festival, five filmmakers were announced as recipients of the second round of short film production grants: Mohammed Amer, Annemarie Jacir, Akuol de Mabior, Bao Nguyen, and Rithy Panh.

On May 18, during the Cannes Film Festival, DFF introduced the filmmakers chosen for its second cohort: artists whose lives and work span different countries, histories and experiences of displacement. Joining Blanchett onstage were Clare Stewart, managing director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and four of this year's recipients: the Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir; the Vietnamese American filmmaker Bao Nguyen; the Palestinian American comedian, writer and director Mohammed Amer; and the South Sudanese filmmaker Akuol de Mabior. The fifth recipient, director Rithy Panh, was unable to attend.

On January 30, 2026, five short films supported by the Displacement Film Fund had their world premieres at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. As the screening came to an end, the packed Oude Luxor theatre was filled with a warm standing ovation and a palpable sense of elation, connecting the films with the realities unfolding before us.

June 16, 2025, Tokyo - Fast Retailing joined with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to showcase its global refugee support activities at an event at the Osaka Expo. The event, held in advance of World Refugee Day on June 20, featured a panel discussion to celebrate the third anniversary of UNIQLO's PEACE FOR ALL charity T-shirt project, and a spotlight on UNIQLO’s founding support for the Displacement Film Fund to support refugee filmmakers. Clare Stewart, Managing Director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), who leads the management of the fund through HBF, and Hasan Kattan from Syria, one of the first five filmmakers selected to receive a grant through the fund, also spoke at the event.

May 23, 2025, Cannes - A panel event was held at the Cannes Film Festival regarding the Displacement Film Fund (DFF), which UNIQLO supports. Speakers included actor, producer, and UNHCR Global Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett; Maryna Er Gorbach (Ukraine) and Mo Harawe (Somalia), two of the selected filmmakers supported by the fund; and Rajendra Roy, Chief Curator of Film at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. The event was moderated by International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Managing Director, Clare Stewart, and the panelists discussed the intersection of filmmaking and refugee support.