Global Migration Film Festival
By Mariam Chanishvili
Tuesday, December 24
The Global Festival of Migration Films, officially opened in Tbilisi on December 13, featured Georgian filmmaker Vakho Jajanidze's film Exodus, Three August Days directed by Madli Laan and Haru's New Year by Alice Shin.
The festival took place on December 13-18 at Amirani Cinema in Tbilisi.
Haru’s New Year is a short film on isolation, loneliness and hope in a new place, which will strike a chord with all those who have had to rebuild their lives far from home.
The film by Madli Laan takes place in August 1991, when Estonia declared independence from the Soviet Union’s de facto occupation. Amid the tense and intimidating atmosphere, an Estonian girl gradually develops a friendship with a Russian boy over a common interest.
On the second floor of the Amirani Cinema, the IOM Exhibition Untold Stories - Photographs of Georgian Returned Migrants by Dina Oganova took place.
The event was organized by IOM (The United Nations Migration Agency) with the support of the UN Resident Coordinator's Office and the Culture and Youth Affairs Office of the Tbilisi City Hall.
IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. One of the main goals of the organization is to support the efforts of States in the area of labor migration, in particular, short term movements, and other types of circular migration, also to be a primary reference point for migration information, research, best practices, data collection, compatibility and sharing.
The main migration challenges facing Georgia are high outward migration motivated by the lack of economic opportunities at home; development of the country’s migration management system; reintegration of returnees; challenges to capture the scale and scope of remittance flow sent by labor migrants; fostering links between migration and development.
Global Migration Film Festival is held in more than 100 countries each year. The festival brings together professional and beginner filmmakers from around the world who tell the stories of migrants through films.
According to IOM, Films have the power to show different facets of life, which can in turn help viewers to cultivate deeper empathy for migrants and a better understanding of their realities, needs, perspectives and capacities.
The objective of the festival is to use films as educational tools that influence perceptions of and attitudes towards migrants, by bringing attention to social issues and creating safe spaces for respectful debate and interaction.
