Stories of Displacement and Belonging - Cairo

Over six days, participants learned mobile filmmaking, editing, and impact storytelling, culminating in deeply moving short films that speak to displacement, survival, creativity and the search for belonging. The event will feature an exchange with the filmmakers — joining virtually from Cairo.  
  

Fatin Abbas, Sudanese-American author of the novel Ghost Season, set in Sudan, and Black Time: Essays on the Invisible, will share insights on the current war in Sudan, its diasporic impact, and the importance of storytelling in times of crisis.   
  

Presented by With Wings and Roots e.V. in collaboration with the​​​​​​​ Union of Media Women in Egypt, and the Jesuit Cultural Center Cairo.  

Featured Films Include:

Between Two Homelands

(7:52) - Directed by: Hossam Gala (Sudanese)

Surviving war is only the beginning. The true battle starts with building a new life in a country of exile.

Survived not Alive

(29:49) - Directed by Khalil Kanoun (Palestinian)

Khalil directed the film "We Survived But Not Safe" to shed light on the harsh realities faced by Gazan civilians—both inside Gaza and in exile—during the war and in its aftermath for those who survived 

Oud

(9:44 min) - Directed by​​​​​​​ Hagar & Ahmed Mansour (Egyptian) 

Resisting the psychological scars of war on civilians—through the power of music. 

Children Under a New Sky

(3:53) - Directed by Salah El-Din Mohamed (Sudanese)

The film revolves around refugee and migrant children who find it difficult to communicate due to the sudden transition from an open environment full of play and adventure to a closed apartment block.  

Nostalgia to the Jail

(9 min) - Directed by Shahd Jabr (Palestinian) 

Nostalgia to the Jail is a short film that portrays the psychological struggle of a Palestinian expatriate—torn between the dream of escaping siege, the bitterness of exile, and a profound longing for a homeland that is no longer as it once was.

Homeland

(4:42) Directed by: Mehad Youssef (Sudanese)

A documentary that sheds light on the dilemma of Sudanese academic refugees in Egypt: university degrees that turn into neglected papers, wasted professional skills, and marginalized jobs.

Matter of Days

(32:37) - Directed by Jumana Mallah (Palestinian)

Jumana fulfills her dream of traveling from Gaza to Rafah in the occupied territories to attend a youth conference happily—only to find herself, months later, forcibly displaced from Gaza. She documents the journey with her phone camera in a raw but hopeful narrative.