Cate Blanchett, the renowned actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, has once again demonstrated her commitment to supporting displaced filmmakers through the Displacement Film Fund (DFF). At the Cannes Film Festival, Blanchett announced the recipients of the second cycle of the DFF, a short film grant scheme established in 2025 to champion and fund the work of displaced filmmakers. The recipients include Bao Nguyen, Mohammed "Mo" Amer, and Palestine 36 director Annemarie Jacir, as well as Rithy Panh and Akuol de Mabior.
The DFF, backed by a coalition of film industry experts, creators, business leaders, and philanthropists, provides each selected filmmaker with a production grant of €100,000 ($116,350). Their completed projects will have world premieres at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in 2027. The first cycle of the DFF, launched in 2025, supported filmmakers such as Mohammad Rasoulof, Maryna Er Gorbach, Mo Harawe, Hasan Kattan, and Shahrbanoo Sadat, whose films had world premieres at IFFR 2026.
During the Cannes event, Blanchett emphasized the importance of short films in storytelling and the audience's connection to these narratives. She expressed her enthusiasm for the success of the first cohort and her excitement for the next group of artists supported by the DFF. Clare Stewart, managing director of IFFR, and Tamara Tatishvili, head of the Hubert Bals Fund, also shared their privilege in returning to Cannes with the DFF and highlighted the extraordinary breadth of filmmaking talent represented by the second-cycle recipients.
The projects of the recipients showcase a diverse range of themes and experiences. Mohammed "Mo" Amer's "Return to Sender" explores the challenges faced by a Palestinian stand-up comedian navigating absurd immigration hurdles. Annemarie Jacir's "Deconstruction" delves into the complexities of memory and reinvention in the city of Haifa. Akuol de Mabior's "Traces of a Broken Line" examines the impact of war on a mother's ability to pass down her lineage. Bao Nguyen's "How to Ride a Bike" tackles the shame of a Vietnamese refugee father who never learned to ride a bike and his attempts to teach his son. Rithy Panh's "Time… Speak" focuses on an exiled filmmaker's journey to reconstruct his fragmented memories and the disappeared's continued presence through cinema.
The DFF's impact extends beyond the recipients. The inaugural collection of films will screen at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October, and a theatrical screening at New York's Film Forum will qualify the films for Academy Award consideration. Blanchett's dedication to supporting displaced filmmakers and her belief in film as a powerful force for change are evident in her efforts to bring these vital stories into the spotlight.
