World Refugee Day: Movies about migrant lives worldwide
June 20 marks International Refugee Day. There are more than 79.5 million forcibly displaced people in the world, including refugees, internally displaced people, and asylum seekers. At Narrative Muse, we believe in the power of storytelling to build empathy and connection. Here are some movies about refugees’ experiences.
1. Kannathil Muthamittal (2002)
Director: Mani Ratnam
This Indian movie about nine-year-old Amutha is enduring. It starts as a light-hearted comedy about a family, but changes its course when, after her 9th birthday, Amutha learns that she is adopted. Wanting to know why her mother abandoned her, Amutha, with the help of her foster parents, travels through war-torn areas of Sri Lanka to trace the whereabouts of her biological mother. The story is about family, bonding, and the lasting pain caused by conflict.
2. For Sama (2017)
Director: Waal-al-Kateab, Edward Watts
One cannot know the privilege of stability until it is taken away. For Sama traces a woman’s experience of war. Using real camera footage, she tells her experience of falling in love, getting married, and giving birth to her daughter Sama, all in the middle of the conflict in Aleppo, Syria. Although the events in her life and country are heart-wrenching, the strength of a mother’s love also gives us hope for a future after the war.
3. The Good Lie (2014)
Director: Philippe Falardeau
After their village is destroyed and they are orphaned by civil war in Sudan, the youngsters of the village make a difficult journey to a labor camp. Thirteen years later, they get a chance to travel to the United States, where they meet a woman who is in charge of helping them find employment. As she works with the youth from Sudan, she realises their plight and offers to help them rebuild their lost lives for a new future. Based on a true story, this movie offers a glimmer of hope in dark times.
4. First They Killed My Father (2017)
Director: Angelina Jolie
During the Vietnam War, the conflict spilled into neighbouring Cambodia, where it sparked a civil war. Told through the eyes of five-year-old girl Loung Ung in 1975, the movie traces her journey from being forced into a labor camp (along with her six siblings), building their own shelter, working under harsh conditions, and sleeping hungry most nights. Eventually, her brothers and sisters are transferred to other camps and Ung is forced to become a child soldier fighting the Americans. The biopic thriller is based on a memoir by Ung and the script is co-written by Jolie and Ung herself.
5. Styx (2018)
Director: Wolfgang Fischer
A German doctor takes an annual vacation and embarks on a solo voyage, achieving her long-held dream of sailing from Gibraltar to the small island of Ascension in the Atlantic. As she sails, she comes across a damaged boat, overloaded with refugees crossing international waters seeking safety. Realising that hundreds of them could easily drown in the sea due to the damaged boat, she offers help. Even though she is close to their boat, it dawns upon her that their worlds are completely different. This clock-ticking thriller is sure to have you on the edge of your seat.
6. Soufra (2017)
Director: Thomas Morgan
The movie is set in one of the world’s oldest refugee camps in Lebanon, where refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Palestine have lived their entire lives. Mariam is one of these refugees, but she is also a hopeful and courageous woman who dreams of being an entrepreneur. She gathers her fellow refugee women and with the help of a micro-loan, plans to start a food truck. Fighting against all odds, they become a close community working to make the world a better place through their traditional food.
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