The weekend of Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 marked the 27th annual One World Film Festival (OWFF). The program included Canadian and international documentary films and an opportunity to engage with the material through panel discussions and question and answer sessions with filmmakers.
Since its 1989 launch, the annual film festival, presented by One World Arts, has become Ottawa’s longest-running documentary film festival on social justice and social change.
Library and Archives Canada hosted an almost full house of participants for the OWFF event Stories from The Syrian Refugee Crisis, on Sept. 29.
The night featured Another Kind of Girl: 7 Short Films by Syrian Refugees and the Canadian premiere of After Spring, directed by Ellen Martinez and Steph Ching, and executive-produced by former Daily Show host Jon Stewart. There was also a panel discussion held at the end of the night that included representatives from Oxfam Canada, United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) Canada, and the University of Ottawa.
7 Short Films by Syrian Refugees was created by giving Syrian girls in Jordan’s refugee camps the opportunity to record parts of their own lives.
After Spring, presented in partnership with Oxfam Canada, took its viewers through the ups and downs of Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan, which is the second-largest refugee camp in the world according to the film. It shows the role of aid workers from the UNHCR and brings to light the daily lives of Syrian families in contemplation of an uncertain future.
The panel provided the opportunity for interested members of the public to engage in conversation with representatives Melanie Gallant, head of media relations at Oxfam Canada, Johannes van der Klaauw, UNHCR representative in Canada, and Peter Showler, a professor at the University of Ottawa.
The discussions revolved around the critiques on the documentary films by the representatives on the panel.
Gallant discussed the back to back summits on refugees and migrants hosted in New York City by the United Nations just a week before the OWFF event was held.
She also addressed the more specific issues facing female refugees and young refugee girls such as violence against women and forced child marriage.
“If these issues and challenges faced by women and girls aren’t addressed and aren’t a key part of the solution, any solution is bound to fail,” Gallant said.
She added that it was important to support local grassroots organisations and specifically women’s organisations working on the frontline of the crisis is to aid its solution.
“Unfortunately, in many ways, [these women] remain voiceless, marginalised, and don’t get as much support from policymakers and governments,” Gallant said.
Van der Klaauw brought up the “dark side” of refugee camps that were not as explicitly shown in the documentary films, including the militarization of the camps.
“40% of these [refugee] families in this camp are female-headed households. Their husbands are back in Syria fighting,” van der Klaauw said.
Van der Klaauw also discussed the reciprocal benefits of hosting refugees, and the value of refugees to the communities they are brought into.
Zoe Mallett, communications co-ordinator for the OWFF, said that there were a few ways for Canadians to get involved in helping refugees and contribute towards social change.
Canadians can become sponsors to refugees and volunteer with organizations that directly work on the Syrian Refugee Crisis, Mallett said.
“One of the most effective and immediate ways that Canadians can make a difference is by donating money to organizations, like Oxfam Canada, the UNHCR, the World Food Programme, and others, that work with refugees internationally, as well as local agencies and networks that support refugees resettling in Ottawa and the area, such as Refugee 613 and its member organizations.”
