Cate Blanchett Discusses Refugee Displacement and Film Fund

Actor Cate Blanchett stated that art serves to re-humanize refugees and challenge toxic narratives surrounding global displacement during an interview on the BBC programme The Interview with presenter Katie Razzall, bbc.com reported.

Humanitarian Advocacy and the Displacement Film Fund

Blanchett, a 57-year-old Australian actor known for roles in Elizabeth, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, has spent a decade serving as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. Two years after taking on that role, she addressed the UN Security Council to draw attention to Rohingya refugees fleeing violence and persecution in Myanmar. Last year, Blanchett helped launch the Displacement Film Fund, an initiative designed to support filmmakers who have experienced displacement and finance projects exploring the lives of those forced to flee their homes. Five filmmakers received grants through the fund, producing individual stories originating from places including Ukraine, Somalia, and Iran.

Cate Blanchett on attitudes towards refugees and asylum seekers and her Displacement Film Fund

Reframing the Narrative on Global Displacement

During the BBC broadcast, Blanchett addressed the psychological distance maintained by populations living outside conflict zones. She emphasized that individuals in safe nations face a displacement of their own empathy.

“There’s a toxic narrative around displacement which has been politicised and part of the fund is to re-humanise and make the connection because those people who have the great fortune to be housed, to be in nations that are free of conflict at the moment, we’re being asked to be displaced from our humanity.”

Blanchett stated.

Firsthand Perspectives From Syria and Ongoing Broadcasts

Filmmaker Hasan Kattan joined Blanchett for the interview to discuss his personal experience of fleeing Syria. The conversation forms part of the BBC’s ongoing interview series, which features conversations with global figures and is broadcast on the BBC World Service alongside podcast releases on BBC Sounds.