TOKYO - The 19th Refugee Film Festival opened at a movie theater in Tokyo's Roppongi district Thursday, with one of the festival’s six documentaries and films shedding light on the hope and resilience of refugees around the world screened for audiences at the venue and online.

The festival opened with a first-in-Japan screening of The Walk, from Macedonian filmmaker Tamara Kotevska whose 2019 documentary "Honeyland" was nominated for two Academy Awards. 

Sharing the name of the traveling theater project to promote human rights, especially those of refugees and the displaced, The Walk follows the journey across Europe of Little Amal, a 3.5 meter tall puppet of a Syrian refugee girl.

Amal and her puppeteers, themselves refugees, set out from the Syria-Turkey border on a walk which takes them some 8,000km to Western Europe. Along the way they meet other refugees, draw crowds of well wishers and, in some places, angry detractors chanting "shame."

Amal's observations of her journey are voiced using the testimonies of refugees who Kotevska interviewed while following Amal on her walk. 

During one scene in the documentary, Amal pauses to look at a mural of an old lady.  She sees something of herself in the worn features of the face it portrays, despite only being a child herself. "Sometimes I feel like I’ve seen too much," she says. 

Speaking ahead of the opening night screening at the Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills movie theater, Kotevska described Little Amal as "the voice, the face, and the image of all the refugees in the world."

Through Amal, which means "hope" in Arabic, Kotevska challenges the image of refugees who she thinks are too often portrayed in the media as poor people who need money, who are "almost like beggars."

"I saw many of these people in the refugee camps. They wanted to feel beautiful, to look beautiful because this is who they are. They don't want to be seen as victims," she said.

Asked about how films and documentaries differ from other potential avenues for raising awareness about refugees and displaced people, Kotevska said the difference was huge, particularly compared to other media and the news through which refugees are often reduced to a number.

"(Films) can place the focus on the individual. Every human can connect with another individual, not so much with a number," she said. "A number expires. We feel sorry but then it’s just a number. But when we see and feel the story of one individual the tragedy is much greater."

Tamara Kotevska, director of The Walk, at the opening of the 19th Refugee Film Festival in Tokyo on Nov. 7, 2024.

The Walk is one of four of the six films and documentaries selected by festival organizer Japan for UNHCR that will be screened for the first time in Japan during the festival period, which runs through Nov. 30. After the opening night, screenings will be held online.

In selecting the films, Reiko Yamazaki, senior external relations officer with Japan for UNHCR, said they wanted to show the resilience, courage, and hope of the refugees.

"It's clear that refugees are surviving in very difficult circumstances but we tried to choose documentaries and films that depict these positive aspects which can lead to a sense of strength and hope," she said.

Cinematographer Jean Dakar and director Tamara Kotevska after the screening of their documentary The Walk at the 19th Refugee Film Festival in Tokyo on Nov. 7, 2024.

Since it began in 2006, the Refugee Film Festival has screened 265 films from around the world to an audience of over 100,000. During this year’s festival, audience members, who must be resident in Japan, can make a fixed donation when applying to watch the online screenings.  

The main goal of the festival, though, is to raise awareness and deepen understanding about refugee issues, according to Japan for UNHCR, a non-profit organization that conducts public relations and fundraising as a partner in Japan for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

"When we use the word "refugee," it’s difficult to see the lives and personalities of these people. I want the audience to understand through the films that they are people who have the same friends, families, hometowns, jobs, and daily lives as we do," Yamazaki said. 

Japanese rock star MIYAVI, who has a global following, has been using his profile to help refugees to be heard, particularly among the public in his homeland. 

MIYAVI, who serves as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, highlighted in an exclusive comment ahead of the opening night the "diversity of voices that this year's festival amplifies." Stories this year come from Syria, Ukraine, and Afghanistan, among other countries.

"These films capture powerful, real-life stories of those who have been forced to flee their homes, illustrating the unbreakable bonds of family and the courage it takes to rebuild in a new place," he said.

MIYAVI meets Syrian refugees in Lebanon (2023) © UNHCR

By promoting a "whole of society" approach which unites government, public sectors, and civil society, MIYAVI said that Japan can help to ensure all refugees have a chance to rebuild their lives anywhere in the world.

"Japan has a unique role to lead in supporting refugees, setting an example for the international community," he said.

For the 19th Refugee Film Festival, organizers are inviting audience members to think about their connection to the world and ask themselves what peace is amid an escalation of conflicts, wars, and humanitarian crises which have left over 122 million people forcibly displaced, according to mid-year data for 2024 from the UNHCR. 

The online screening period for the 19th Refugee Film Festival runs until 23:55 on Nov. 30, 2024. Screenings are limited to audiences in Japan. During the festival, online seminars will be held through which participants can learn more about the issues behind the films being screened.  

For more information visit the festival website: https://www.japanforunhcr.org/how-to-help/rff/en