Films

We are so excited to announce our 2025 film programme curated by Other Cinemas and Counterpoints Arts.

About the Refugee Week film programme:

This year, Counterpoints Arts and Other Cinemas – two organisations who work across intersections of racial justice, migration, and climate – have collaborated on a film programme for a community-powered week! 

The programme consists of five shorts and two feature length films that explore the theme of community as a superpower. From emergency responders in El Salvador supporting their communities in crisis to the familiar smell and taste of home to bring comfort, these films invite us to celebrate the diverse way we build and sustain our communities. 

All the carefully curated films can be watched for free – either in the comfort of your home or surrounded by your neighbours at a community screening. No need to get rights or licensing, we have arranged these for the duration of Refugee Week which runs from Monday 16th to Sunday 22nd of June. 

We would like to thank the team at Curate-It for providing us with a secure, online platform to share these films and celebrate Refugee Week with our global community. 

The films are available during Refugee Week 16-22 June on this link here.

FEATURE LENGTH FILMS

Fremont, dir. Babak Jalali (1h 30m)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObWrx064yzQ
Category: Feature fiction
Synopsis: A moving and hilarious comedy-drama starring Anaita Wali Zada and The Bear’s Emmy award-winning Jeremy Allen White. Donya, a young Afghan who moved to Fremont, California after serving as a translator for the American army, spends her days working at a fortune cookie factory and her nights wide awake battling between her desire to rebuild her life and the overbearing guilt she carries within. In a bid to connect with the world, she sends an unconventional message through a fortune cookie.
Audience certification: 12A in UK
Themes: Afghanistan, survivor’s guilt, comedy

SHORTS

Nanitic, dir. Carol Nugyen (14 mins)

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/699623886
Category: Short fiction
Synopsis: “Nanitics” are the first-generation worker ants, who sacrifice their lives for the survival of the colony. These symbols parallel the lives of immigrant families throughout the generations. 9-year-old Trang starts to shift out of oblivion as her aunt Ut tends to Grandma, who lies on her deathbed in the living room. What will happen when Grandma is gone?
Themes: family relationships, grief, childhood, death

Burnt Milk, dir. Joseph Douglas Elmhirst (10 mins)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqh2e7NaL7g&pp=ygUSYnVybnQgbWlsayB0cmFpbGVy

Category: Short fiction
Synopsis: Burnt Milk is a film named after the common Caribbean dessert made by boiling condensed milk until it is caramelised. In the film this dessert is one of the few comforts afforded to Una, an alienated and isolated Jamaican midwife living in the United Kingdom.
Themes: migration, displacement, Jamaica, food, joy

Journey Mercies, dir. Tomisin Adepeju (15mins)

Category: Short fiction
Synopsis: Inspired by Adepeju’s own experience as a Nigerian immigrant in London, the film explores his parents’ unfulfilled dream of returning to Nigeria to live in the house they built. Captured in the nostalgic VHS aesthetic of classic Nollywood, it beautifully portrays the immigrant experience and the deep longing for belonging.
Audience: Family friendly
Themes: Nigeria, displacement, cultural identity

The Scent of Geranium, dir. Naghmeh Farzaneh (5 mins)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6zGKhaJfvE&pp=ygUdVGhlIFNjZW50IG9mIEdlcmFuaXVtIHRyYWlsZXI%3D

Category: Short animation
Synopsis: By using her own experience as an Iranian international student in the U.S., Farzaneh gives voice to the fears, doubts and complex range of emotions that immigrants face, and makes a powerful call for a more compassionate approach.
Audience: Family friendly
Themes: Iran, nature, family, compassion, discrimination

Los Comandos, dir. Juliana Schatz Preston and Joshua Bennett (30mins)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEnlinlmOvE&pp=ygUUTG9zIENvbWFuZG9zIHRyYWlsZXI%3D

Category: Short documentary
Synopsis: As a result of extreme gang and police violence, El Salvador has the highest murder rate in the world. The emergency medical unit, Los Comandos de Salvamento, is one of the few institutions that is willing to take a stand against this reign of terror. 16-year-old Mimi, a high school student and volunteer paramedic, must decide if she will stay in the country or risk her life helping others.
Themes: gang violence, young people, El Salvador, migration
Content warning: death, violent crimes, gang violence