Fundraising-A Roller Coaster Ride

Terms like economic depression, hard times, took on a whole new meaning for the fundraising committee of the Cairo Refugee Film Festival.

UNHCR which had collaborated on most of the World Refugee Day celebrations in Cairo could not support us, which was a big dampener for us as we had been heavily relying on their participation. They did offer us a valuable advice though-to trim the festival duration from the proposed 8 days. A very pertinent suggestion, in view of the current economic scenario.

Reem had painstakingly researched on the potential funders but had not met with any luck. Mai was wary of approaching the corporate sponsors and the usual collaborators like the UNHCR had said no. Where did that leave us?

And then the first breakthrough came when UNICEF decided to collaborate with us on the workshops and our media campaign. Though we were still by no means any closer to the required amount, it was at least a beginning.

After the response from UNICEF, there was a lull for so long that we were becoming nervous. Our volunteers-Tamara and Ligia-came up with great ideas to get funding but nothing seemed to work.

All our hopes were pinned on the upcoming meeting with the Netherlands embassy. On the day of our first meeting at the Netherlands embassy, Mai and Sankalita took special care with their dressing-turning up in their “Sunday best”. An exercise in futility because the concerned person had called in sick that morning and there was no meeting. An ominous sign?

When the meeting with the Netherlands embassy finally took place, Sankalita’s forceful defence of the relevance of the proposed film festival to the average Egyptian was brought to an abrupt halt by the insightful question of the Netherlands embassy representative “You are not an Egyptian, are you?” This broke the ice as the discussion meandered into how much time must be spent in a country before a person starts referring to it as his/her own. A very satisfactory meeting but there was slight hitch-the lady was going to go away on vacation, though she promised that a colleague of hers would be in touch with us. Our project was approved the very next day but we spent a tension-filled week because the mail approving our project had been sent to the wrong mail ID! Anyways, at this point, we were ecstatic!

The icing on the cake was when Mai’s perseverance and optimism in relation to Movies that Matter turned out to be well founded and they approved a princely sum for the festival.

Money makes the world go round and no one knows this better than the fundraising committee at the Cairo Refugee Film Festival.

Cherry on the cake?-the Gothe institute agreed to lend us their projector for screening the films for the festival, apart from supporting us with funds. As they say “now we are in business.”

Thanks

Our sincere and heartfelt thanks to our team of talented and enthusiastic volunteers

Amira Moe, Annah Pyndiah, Dorothea Kohler, Ligia Laacava, Letizia Polizzi, Maria Tarancón, Sonja Etzelsdorfer, Tamara Shogaolu, Tarnue Seek-pah.

Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the contribution of the following:

Barbara Harrel-Bond-our most enthusiastic supporter
Amanda Kerdahi Matt-our talented graphic designer-check our logo!
Prohelvetia
Suchitra and Emilie for their support in the crucial stage of initial planning.

Early Days=Heady Days

First Meeting

I still remember the first meeting of the organizing committee for the film festival that took place in early Jan at the old offices of Tadamon. What a heady start it was! There were around 12-15 of us and we had to join two tables to accommodate all of us. Like the large group, we were also big on ideas. From a 10 day film festival, Angelina Jolie as the chief guest, getting the most expensive films to grace the festival to panel discussions with the filmmakers, screenings at more than one venue, the ideas flew fast and furious. After all, the proposed film festival was going to be the first of its kind in the region and the organizing members wanted to leave no idea untried, no avenue unexplored and no thought unvoiced!

The confidence levels and the enthusiasm was high from the very beginning and everything seemed possible and within grasp. It has definitely been this eagerness and the wide ranging expertise of the organizing committee that has carried us through.

Forming of Committees

A product of the times that we live in, our schedules are always crammed with a thousand things that we need to do. And it may not always be possible to match the schedules of all the organizers for meetings. This led to the division of the organizing members into Fundraising Committee and Films Committee to ensure better co-ordination and productivity.

Teething Problems

Funding

Big ideas require big money to execute. And so obtaining funding became our top priority. To get our ideas across to the potential funders, we needed a good proposal, which would serve as an effective medium to communicate our ideas. Our first attempt at proposal writing resulted in a very academic kind of commentary on the refugee situation in Cairo. Then Shubra who had experience in fund raising came to the rescue and suggested that we trim down our proposal according to certain criteria. Mai, Sankalita and Shubra, after much haggling over words. managed to get the first draft out which just required some tweaking. The group heaved a collective sigh of relief!

Chasing funders

Did I say a sigh of relief? the sigh could well qualify as one of the shortest! The economic downturn had not left many untouched and many of the organizations and funds that we approached were operating on reduced budgets and did not have money to spare. Further, not every fund wants to associate itself with refugee issues. When UNHCR told us “no”, it was one of the lowest moments for us as a team. However, our perseverance paid off and our first breakthrough came when UNICEF agreed to sponsor us. The most frustrating part was not receiving any kind of response from some of the people that we got in touch for funding the film festival. But despite repeated reminders, we sometimes never got any response. Even if the answer was negative, we just needed to know!

Selection of Films

We are organizing a film festival and it is imperative that we get the right films! The focus had to be on getting the right films, viewing them and finally making the right selection. Plus, we had budgetary constraints-the shipping costs and the getting the film screening rights would be a huge drain on our as-yet non existent resources.

Movies that Matter, a Netherlands based fund that believes in the power of the films “to promote the observance of human rights and social change” came to our rescue by suggesting films that could be used effectively to convey the message that we were aiming for. That gave us a good start as did a look at the films that had been screened at similar festivals elsewhere in the world like the Tokyo Film Festival. The CMRS library at the AUC was a good source of films and Sara became our “courier” for ferrying the films to and fro from the library to Tadamon. But the films committee and the fundraising committee had to go through many meetings and discussions before they would taste success!

Workshops

Cairo’s landmark first annual refugee film festival will be accompanied by three art-based workshops. Participating in these workshops will be a mix of Egyptian, Palestinian, Iraqi, and Sudanese youth. The aim of these workshops is three fold:

1) to cultivate a sustainable relationship among these youth by having them collaborate during these activities and exchange their individual perspectives on art influenced by their life experiences

2) To offer these youth an outlet for self-expression through various artistic mediums. The chance to work with cameras, flim, and theater is a unique and valuable opportunity for many of the participants

3) To give attendees at the Refugee Film Festival an insight into the lives of these youth by observing their art.

The workshops will precede the actual film festival and the art produced during them will be displayed at the festival, with the artists’ permission.

There are three anticipated workshops

1) The Photo Workshop May 29-June 5

The Photo Workshop will take place in three sessions. There will be about 12 participants who will be between the ages of 9 and 13. The first session will be held at the Nahla Center, where the participants will be introduced to the basics of photography by an established Egyptian photographer. Along with learning about the basics of photography, the participants will also be encouraged to share stories from their personal lives and how they might be able to tell these same stories using images. After the first session is finished we will distribute disposable cameras among the participants. They will be asked to follow certain guidelines, with the final result to put together a photo story that represents a particular experience they’d like to share. We will collect the cameras at the end of the day A week later, the students will reconvene at the Nahla Center. The photos will have been developed, and they will have the opportunity to physically put their photo story together and share it with their peers.

2) The Puppet Theater Workshop (TBA)

The puppet theater workshop is aimed at allowing 12-14 participants the opportunity to experiment with various artistic methods. The students will come together initially at the Nahla Center, and will have to decide on a story to tell in puppet form. After deciding on the story, the participants will be divided into three different groups. The first group will be responsible for writing the story, with characters and dialogue. The second will work with a music therapist to create a soundtrack to the play. The third will be involved with making the setting and background for the play. After these three groups are done with their preparations, all participants will need to design their own puppets to use in the theater. The final result will be a performance, of which will be taped and displayed in clips and photos during the film festival.

3) The Film Workshop June 5-10

This 5-day workshop will involve 10-15 university going Egyptian and Refugee students. They will get the opportunity to learn camera techniques and produce their own short films. The first day they will gather to learn camera techniques and brainstorm ideas. The following two days they will take on different roles in producing films, in order to understand all the various and important roles (director, cinematographer, sound) involved in film making. After this session, they will be equipped with a camera and instructed to shoot a short story or documentary. The last day they will return, and learn editing techniques. The final produce will be a 1-3 minute clip that they have produced completely on their own, which will be displayed at the film festival.

Film Schedule

Tuesday June 16
19:00 Giraffe in the Rain (Belgium, Animation, 2007, 12 min)
19:30 Salt of this Sea (Belgium/Palestine, Fiction, 2008, 74 min, Arabic & English subtitles)
21:30 Live Concert: Massar Egbari (Egyptian Rock)

Fir synopsis of the films go to http://cairorefugeefilmfestival.blogspot.com/2009/06/day-1-synopsis.html

Wednesday June 17
18:00 Identity without a Homeland (US/Palestine, Documentary, 2008, 78 min, Arabic & English subtitles)
19:30 Relocated Mountains (New Zealand/US, Documentary, 2008, 95 min, Arabic subtitles)
21:20 Mujahjeheen (Egypt, Documentary, 2008, 10 min, English subtitles)
21:35 Telling Strings (Switzerland, Documentary, 2007, 60 min, Arabic & English subtitles)

For synopsis of the films, go to http://cairorefugeefilmfestival.blogspot.com/2009/06/day-2-synopsis.html

Thursday June 18
18:00 Seoul Train (US, Documentary, 2005, 54 min, Arabic & English subtitles)
19:20 Iraqis in Egypt (Egypt/US, Documentary, 2008, 12 min, English subtitles)
19:40 The Genocide in Me (Canada, Documentary, 2005, 53 min, Arabic subtitles)
20:45 Arna’s Children (Japan, Documentary, 2003, 85 min, English subtitles)
22:20 New Year Baby (US, Documentary, 2008, 74 min, Arabic subtitles)

For synopsis of the films. go to http://cairorefugeefilmfestival.blogspot.com/2009/06/day-3-synopsis.html

Friday June 19
18:00 The Presence of absence in the ruins of Kafr Birim (US, Documentary, 2007, 60 min, English subtitles)
19:15 This Palestinian life (Egypt, Documentary, 2009, 28 min, 2009, English subtitles)
20:00 Panel discussion
21:00 Rightful yet Right-less (Egypt, Documentary, 2007, 49 min, 2007, English subtitles)
22:00 Screening of youth filmmaking project
22:30 Monkey Dance (US, Documentary, 2004, 60 min, Arabic subtitles)

For synopsis of the films, go to http://cairorefugeefilmfestival.blogspot.com/2009/06/presence-of-absence-in-ruins-of-kafr.html

Saturday June 20
15:00 Hope (Australia, Documentary, 2008, 117 min, 2008, English subtitles)
17:10 Berlari (Malaysia, Documentary, 2009, 30 min, English subtitles)
17:45 Witness Shatilla (Egypt, Documentary, 2006, 40 min, English subtitles)
18:30 Crossing the dust (France/Iraq, Fiction, 2006, 73 min, English subtitles)
20:00 Slingshot hip hop (Palestine/US, Documentary, 2008, 83 min, English, Arabic and French subtitles)
21:30 Live Hip Hop Concert: Kin3an from P.R (Palestinian Rapperz)

For synopsis of the films. go to
http://cairorefugeefilmfestival.blogspot.com/2009/06/day-5-synopsis.html

Sponsors, Collaborators and Organisers

Sponsors

1. The Netherlands Embasssy
2. Movies that Matter
3. UNICEF works for children's rights, their survival, development and protection and are partner ing us for the film making workshop.
4. Gothe Institute
5. CMRS Centre for Migration and Refugee Studies under the AUC
6. Cairo To Camps

Collaborators

1. Tadamon-Egyptian Refugee Multicultural Council-an independent, non-political network of civil society organisations working to promote the welfare of refugees and their mutual co-existence with Egyptians through information sharing and coordination of cooperative efforts.
2. Student Action for Refugees (STAR) is a student-run organization at the American University in Cairo (AUC). Their primary mission is to provide support to refugees of all nationalities in Cairo. One of the ways they do this is by organising accessible, affordable arts and language (English and Arabic) classes for Cairo's refugee population in accordance with the principle that access to education is a basic right guaranteed by international human rights law.

Organizers

1. Mahmoud Farag: Community Outreach Team Leader, Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA)
2. Mai Choucri: Community Outreach Coordinator, Tadamon.
3. Marwa Fikry: Psychology student at the American University in Cairo and Vice President of STAR (Student Action for Refugees)
4. Naseem Hashim: Administrative associate, Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)
5. Reem Abbas: Broadcast Journalism student at the American University in Cairo.
6. Sankalita Shome: Legal advisor with the Resettlement Legal Aid Project (RLAP) at Saint Andrews Refugee Services
7. Sara Sadek: Researcher and Consultant on Forced Migration and Refugee issues
8. Shaima Yehia: Coordinator at the Arab Digital Expression Camp (ADEC)
9. Shubra Ohri: Researcher at the Ibn Khaldun Center and a legal advisor at the Resettlement Legal Aid Project at St. Andrews Refugees Services
   

Rationale For The Festival

What happens when a group of eclectic individuals made up of humanitarians, lawyers, members of civil society and students who all have in common a concern for the refugees’ well being in Egypt come together?

The outcome is Cairo Refugee Film Festival, to be held from June 16 to June 20 at the Rawabet theatre in downtown. The festival, the first of its kind in the region, is a celebration of the power of the human spirit and the courage of refugees from all around the world.

Considering that Egypt is home to a significant refugee population, hailing from all across Africa and the Middle East, a festival of such a kind is extremely relevant and provides a platform to bring together local Egyptians and refugees. The Cairo Refugee Film Festival, held in commemoration of the World Refugee Day, seeks to chronicle the lives, struggles, and achievements of refugee populations around the world from the 1930s to the present day. We aspire to break the Egyptian myth that the refugee movement is an Afro-centric problem and that refugees are always African. Through the medium of film, we aim to sensitize the Egyptian community on refugees’ stories, obstacles and resilience.

Why a Film Festival?

Films give a voice to the voiceless; they can evoke strong emotions and break down barriers. The films for the festival will focus on the narratives of different refugee populations to educate, enlighten and inspire empathy. The audio-visual medium of films will attract journalists, intellectuals, artists and general audiences to attend the functions of the festival and interact with

Background and Introduction

In the last three decades, Egypt has become host to refugees fleeing conflicts and persecution in Africa, Asia and Middle East. Many refugees have made Egypt their home and various refugee communities live amongst Egyptian, contributing to the Egyptian society. Though Sudanese are considered to be the largest refugee population, there are also large numbers of Somalis, Eritreans, Ethiopians, North Africans, and even more from Central and West Africa as also Iraqis. Refugees from the Middle and Far East also seek asylum in Egypt. In addition, there are an estimated 70,000 Palestinians. These refugees are often falsely identified as economic migrants, rather than a vulnerable population who fled their homelands due to political unrests and violence.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the main body handling refugee affairs in Egypt in the sense of granting protection, services and other procedural issues. Recognized refugees are offered one of three durable solutions for their refugee status:

1. Resettlement to another country
2. local integration in the country of first asylum (Egypt) or
3. support for voluntary repatriation to the country of origin.

Resettlement as solution is only available to the most vulnerable of the refugees and with civil war and unrest having become second nature; repatriation is almost never the solution to most refugees. Since the vast majority of refugees will never be resettled, integration in Egypt is of great concern and the need of the hour. This is possible only when when the misconceptions between the host communities and the refugee communities are cleared and an appreciation and understanding of the others' circumstances is fostered.

Against this backdrop and with a view to bring the refugee and the egyptian communities together, the idea of a film festival took birth.