Diaspora

Afghan Star, Afghanistan's answer to American Idol, is a raging success. For 13 straight seasons, the show has featured exclusively male winners—until the historic year of 2019. When Zahra threw her hat into the ring, she dreamed of emulating the success of her singing coach and Afghan Star judge Aryana Sayeed. A household name in Afghanistan, controversial and bold Aryana has paved the way for success in a country where entertainment is risky business for women. And Still I Sing follows Aryana and her protégée Zahra as she emerges as a favourite in the final episodes of the 14th season, right up to the American military withdrawal and Taliban takeover in 2021. Through their story, the film reminds us that for over half a century now, the right of Afghan women to artistic expression has never been a given and continues to be contested. Aisha Jamal

In the 2010s, the Islamic State began a genocidal campaign against the Yezidis, a religious and ethnic minority in northern Iraq, slaughtering men and abducting scores of women as slaves. Hanifa survived the attack on her village in 2014, but her sisters were all taken captive. Determined to stay in Iraq and retrieve each one, Hanifa endures the desolation that her community faces in a society that doesn't want them. Saeed Murad, the brother of Nobel Peace laureate Nadia Murad, also remains in Iraq, trying to support the Yezidis living among those who betrayed them. Miraculously, Hanifa's sisters Alya and Zina are rescued and sent to safety in Germany, but can she save the other three? Oscar– and Emmy–nominated filmmaker Hanna Polak tracks Hanifa's mission into one of the most underreported and dangerous places on earth. Formidable threats and sorrow punctuate each stage of this perilous rescue diary, which affords a rare look into a still-devastated land. Myrocia Watamaniuk

In March 2012, Syrian migrants began flooding many parts of the world, including the impoverished Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, searching for work and a temporary respite from the beginnings of civil unrest. Ten years and over six million refugees later, the ongoing displacement of Syrians remains the largest human-forced migration crisis of our times. Shot over an unparalleled decade, Lebanese-Syrian director Noura Kevorkian follows the plight of Maria and her community of Syrian migrant workers who, after toiling for decades in Lebanon's fertile Bekaa Valley, find themselves unable to return to their hometown of Raqqa, Syria. Unique among the numerous refugee stories to date, Batata showcases Kevorkian's keen eye and unrelenting commitment, capturing an entire decade of marriages, births and deaths. What is documented is not just the age-old conflict between Syria and Lebanon, but more importantly, the unbending spirit of a woman who puts family and community ahead of all else. Mariam Zaidi

The Khmer Rouge regime ruled over Cambodia from 1975 to 1979—a violent cultural genocide in which nearly a quarter of the country's population died at the hands of the Communist Party of Kampuchea. Hundreds of thousands fled seeking refuge, including a mother and her baby. Forty years later, filmmaker Neary Adeline Hay courageously attempts to uncover the past and the epilogue to her own narrative, one that her mother would rather leave behind. From the Cambodian jungle, through the former refugee camps of Thailand and Indonesia, to the asylum-seeker centres in France, Hay revisits her roots in a triptych of spaces: the physical world, her own psyche and her mother's memory. Hay's cinematic style is impressive, gliding from stirring and ominous imagery to graceful and contemplative scenes. Eskape is an unforgettable reminder to many children of immigrants and refugees that the truth is out there to see, but for some, ignorance is bliss. Ravi Srinivasan

Doris Muñoz is the daughter of immigrants and in love with music. She dedicates her career to bringing more Latinx music artists into the fold and starts to soar as she becomes a manager. For the first time in her life, she can offer her family security and applies for green cards for her undocumented parents. But then the COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the music industry and swiftly changes Doris's world. Looking for new talent, she discovers Jacks Haupt, another Mexican-American girl looking to start her music career in Dallas, Texas. The only documented members of their families, the two navigate the music industry post-pandemic with stars in their eyes and the weight of their families on their backs. Paired with a beautiful soundtrack and ethereal cinematography, Mija is Isabel Castro's love letter to daughters and immigrants in the United States. Samah Ali

Filmed over five years, Midwives follows a small birthing clinic in the highly politicized region of western Myanmar. The owner of the centre, a Buddhist named Hla, helps all women who enter the facility, with the assistance of Nyo Nyo, a member of the Rohingya Muslim community. Nyo Nyo acts as Hla's apprentice; she is encouraged to learn more about the birthing process in hopes of helping new mothers in the future. Hla faces great risks by serving Rohingya Muslims and fears her clinic will be shut down by the locals. The film offers a glimpse into the day-to-day lives of these two women as they create a healthy and loving space to welcome new life into this world. Samah Ali

Europe's largest refugee camp—Moria, in Greece—was designed for a maximum of 3,000 migrants, but by 2020, it housed over 12,000. In harsh conditions, an Afghan mother called Nasim and her two kids, husband and extended family were trying to survive while awaiting their asylum hearing. In their makeshift tent, Nasim took strength in navigating the intolerable camp for her sons and even began imagining a more independent life for herself beyond her emotionless forced marriage. For eight months, filmmakers Ole Jacobs and Arne Büttner captured her struggle, but also a nascent self-confidence coming to the surface. On the night of September 8, 2020, however, fascists are accused of setting fire to the camp, forcing Nasim to start all over again once more. Unparalleled courage unites the mothers of Moria to action, but what future does Europe truly offer the people caught between two worlds of intolerance? Myrocia Watamaniuk

What do you do when the country your parents fought for is the country that you have no relationship with? That is the question for Akuol de Mabior, daughter of South Sudan's beloved political leader and martyr John Garang de Mabior. After being exiled and living in Kenya for her adolescence, Akuol returns with her family to South Sudan when her mother, Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior, becomes a vice-president in the new unity government. As Akuol and her sisters watch their mother with pride and feel the presence of their father in every room, Akuol's memoir becomes a deeply emotional story of love, loss and forging a new life in your motherland. Samah Ali

In Conversation: Join Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Representative for Canada, director Noura Kevorkian and producer Paul Scherzer for a deep dive into the making-of their documentary, Batata, a decade-long journey into the life and plight of Maria, a Syrian migrant worker unable to leave Lebanon and return to her home in Syria.