Displacement Film Fund Unveils Second Cohort of Short Film Grants at Cannes

The Displacement Film Fund (DFF) launched in 2025 at the UNHCR Global Refugee Forum, partnering with the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund. Its aim is to fund displaced filmmakers and authentic displacement narratives, backed by UNHCR, industry leaders and partners such as Amahoro Coalition and UNIQLO.

Deadline Hollywood

A two-step process chose the cohort. A Nominations Committee – Waad Al Kateab, Agnieszka Holland, Ke Huy Quan, Tamara Tatishvili, Clare Stewart and DFF partners – created a longlist. The Selection Committee, chaired by Cate Blanchett, included IFFR director Vanja Kaludjercic, producer Barbara Broccoli, activist Aisha Khurram and former recipient Mo Harawe.

Deadline Hollywood

Each filmmaker receives a €100,000 grant. The shorts will world-premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (28 Jan–28 Feb 2027). Management stays with the Hubert Bals Fund; founding partners include Amahoro Coalition, Droom en Daad, Master Mind, the Tamer Family Foundation, UNIQLO and SP Lohia Foundation.

Deadline Hollywood

• Mo Amer – *Return to Sender*: Palestinian comedian faces absurd immigration hurdles on tour.

Hollywood Reporter

• Annemarie Jacir – *Deconstruction*: Man in Haifa navigates layered memory and reinvention.

Deadline Hollywood

• Akuol de Mabior – *Traces of a Broken Line*: Mother preserves lineage after war shatters family.

Deadline Hollywood

• Bao Nguyen – *How to Ride a Bike*: Vietnamese refugee father learns to bike to teach son.

Variety Magazine

• Rithy Panh – *Time… Speak*: Exiled filmmaker reconstructs fragmented memories of the disappeared.

Hollywood Reporter

Cate Blanchett said the first cohort “challenged expectations about what stories of displacement can look like on screen” and praised short-form narratives for audience impact. Clare Stewart and Tamara Tatishvili called the Cannes return “a privilege” and highlighted the fund’s role in showcasing vital stories amid global uncertainty. UNHCR data cited note that one in seventy people worldwide is forcibly displaced.

Variety Magazine

• “Our first round of DFF shorts have been met with huge enthusiasm from both the industry and our partners, while challenging expectations about what stories of displacement can look like on screen,” — Cate Blanchett, DFF Co-founder

Deadline Hollywood

• “The short form is a fantastic medium for these narratives and the way audiences are connecting with the first five films is extraordinary.” — Cate Blanchett

Deadline Hollywood

• “It is a privilege to return to Cannes with the Displacement Film Fund, following the remarkable journey we’ve embarked on with the first cohort and the success of their premiere screenings at IFFR 2026.” — Clare Stewart & Tamara Tatishvili

Deadline Hollywood

• “At a time of ongoing global uncertainty, our commitment to maintaining this fund only deepens, alongside our belief in championing film as a powerful force for encouraging empathy and positive change.” — Clare Stewart & Tamara Tatishvili

Deadline Hollywood

The five shorts will debut at IFFR 2027, then screen at the Tokyo International Film Festival and New York’s Film Forum, qualifying for Academy Award consideration. A third DFF cycle is planned.

Hollywood Reporter