Cate Blanchett's Film Fund Partners with The New Yorker for Short Film Release
The inaugural slate features five projects exploring exile, identity, and displacement following their premieres at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Cate Blanchett's Displacement Film Fund is partnering with The New Yorker to release five short films starting weekly on the publication's website and YouTube channel. The initial collection includes works by Mohammad Rasoulof, Shahrbanoo Sadat, Mo Harawe, Maryna Er Gorbach, and Hasan Kattan, focusing on stories of identity, belonging, and exile.
The acquisition follows the projects' world premieres at the 2026 International Film Festival Rotterdam. New York's Film Forum theater is scheduled to host screenings for the slate on Nov. 11, featuring Blanchett in a conversation with a New Yorker editor alongside filmmakers Er Gorbach and Harawe.
The curated series includes both fiction and documentary formats. The lineup begins with Kattan's documentary "Allies in Exile," which chronicles two Syrian journalists whose long-standing friendship endures war and displacement, only to encounter new obstacles regarding immigration systems and rising anti-refugee hostility.
Other titles in the inaugural group include Er Gorbach's scripted short "Rotation," which follows a Ukrainian woman undergoing therapeutic hypnosis while adjusting to military service and a life reshaped by conflict. Rasoulof's "Sense of Water" centers on an Iranian writer in exile struggling to write in a foreign language, while Sadat's "Super Afghan Gym" takes place in a Kabul gym during a dedicated hour for women to exercise and share personal stories. Harawe's "Whispers of a Burning Scent" highlights a musician preparing for a wedding performance while awaiting a court hearing.
Reflecting on the mission behind the initiative, Blanchett emphasized the scale of global displacement. "With one in 70 people on earth displaced by conflict, war and persecution, and division fueled by toxic narratives, it's vital that we create opportunities for audiences to connect with experiences beyond their own and build bridges back to our common humanity," she stated.
Paul Moakley, executive producer of video for The New Yorker, highlighted the urgency of the collection. "This vital collection of films felt especially urgent at this moment, exploring the lives of people in the aftermath of conflict through distinctive and creative approaches to storytelling," Moakley said.
Established last year, the Displacement Film Fund awards each inaugural project a €100,000 production grant to give filmmakers creative freedom. The fund has already selected a second cohort of directors, including Mohammed Amer, Annemarie Jacir, Akuol de Mabior, Bao Nguyen, and Rithy Panh, whose films will premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in January.
Meanwhile, Blanchett recently appeared alongside Prince William, Hannah Waddingham, Robert Irwin, and Jorja Smith on "The Graham Norton Show." During the British talk show appearance, Prince William discussed his favorite television programs and his work with The Earthshot Prize, which he founded in 2020 to support environmental solutions.