Posts Tagged ‘Yusra Mardini’

UNHCR’s Blue Ribbon was a success at the Oscars 2023

March 18, 2023

UNHCR reported proudly on 16 March 2023 that more than 40 nominees and presenters wore UNHCR’s #WithRefugees blue ribbon, culminating in strong support at 2023 Oscars ceremony. Star power can help [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2014/02/28/and-the-nominees-are-oscars-for-human-rights/]

In an initiative spearheaded by UNHCR Goodwill Ambassadors Cate Blanchett and Yusra Mardini, those wearing the ribbon at the ceremony included members of the cast and crew of “All Quiet on the Western Front”, which won four awards including Best International Feature.  The film’s director, Edward Berger, said: “Today there are many people who suffer from the trauma of war, robbing them of their hope and their dreams. They have had to experience terrible things through war and then displacement. These people deserve our solidarity and support. Everywhere and all the time.

The blue ribbons worn by the stars were made by refugees at Knotty Tie, a US company that helps refugees resettled in the Denver, Colorado, area achieve self-sufficiency through employment, training and education.  

There was a moving moment during the award presentations when Best Supporting Actor winner Ke Huy Quan referenced his own refugee background in his acceptance speech. 

“My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp, and somehow I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage,” he said. “They say stories like this only happen in the movies. I cannot believe it’s happening to me.” 

  • Actor Jamie Lee-Curtis wearing a blue ribbon in solidarity with refugees at the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2023. Actor Jamie Lee-Curtis wearing a blue ribbon in solidarity with refugees at the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2023. © UNHCR/Andy Hall

The Oscars were the culmination of an awards season in which more than 40 nominees, presenters and other attendees sent a message of solidarity and unity to viewers across the world by wearing the ribbon at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the BAFTAs and related events including the TIME Women of the Year awards and the Green Carpet Fashion Awards.   

Beyond the awards themselves, many of the films nominated tackled human themes of displacement, separation and loss, including ‘The Swimmers’ (based on the story of Yusra Mardini and her sister Sara Mardini) – see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2022/09/15/the-swimmers-netflix-film-about-syrian-refugee-swimmers/, ‘Bad Axe’, ‘Avatar’, ‘Argentina 1985’, ‘Wakanda Forever’ and ‘Marcel the Shell’. Through effective storytelling, these films help to combat discrimination and misunderstanding, build compassion and offer new perspectives.  

Full list of those wearing #WithRefugees ribbons across events during awards season 2023 and 2022, with thanks from UNHCR: 

Aimee Lou Wood
Alberto Iglesia
Albrecht Schuh
Angela Bassett
Bill Nighy
Brendan Gleeson
Cate Blanchett
Charlotte Wells
Christian Goldbeck
Colin Farrell
Daniel Bruhl
Daniela D’Antonio
Daryl McCormack
Diane Warren
Dolly De Leon
Edward Berger
Emma Thompson
Ernestine Hippe
Felix Kammerer
Filippo Scotti, 
Florence Pugh
Frank Kruse
Gina Prince Bythewood
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Guillermo del Toro
James Krishna Floyd
Jamie Lee Curtis
Javier Bardem 
Jean Todt
Kat Graham
Lars Ginzel
Laura Bailey
Luisa Ranieri
Markus Stemler
Mary Maker
Michael Ward
Michelle Yeoh
Nicholas Britell
Nicole Lecky
Paolo Sorrentino
Paul Mescal
Pedro Almodovar
Penelope Cruz.
Sally El Hosaini
Samuel L Jackson
Sheila Atim
Sophie Turner
Theo James
Viktor Prasil 
Volker Bertelmannr
Yuh-Jung Youn
Yusra Mardini

https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2023/3/6412eb884/film-world-shows-solidarity-refugees-oscars-beyond.html

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The Swimmers: Netflix film about Syrian refugee swimmers

September 15, 2022

UNHCR announced on 9 September 2022 that a new Netflix film, The Swimmers, tells the remarkable tale of Yusra Mardini, a young Syrian refugee and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, who escaped conflict and went on to compete in two Olympics.

“This is a movie that any person in the world can relate to,” the 24-year-old said shortly before the film’s world premiere on Thursday at the prestigious opening night of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). “We want the movie to make a difference.” UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Yusra Mardini hopes the dramatic new film of her and her sister’s escape from conflict to new lives in Europe will challenge attitudes towards refugees.

Directed by acclaimed Egyptian-Welsh filmmaker Sally El Hosaini of My Brother the Devil, the film stars Lebanese actors and real-life sisters Nathalie and Manal Issa, as Yusra and her older sibling Sara.

It tells the story of their childhood in Damascus, their focus on swimming from a young age, and their dramatic journey to Europe in 2015 that saw them help save the lives of fellow refugees by jumping into the water and steering their stricken dinghy to shore through the Aegean Sea’s dark waters.

While the public will have to wait until 23 November for the film’s general release, Mardini has already seen it twice and says it is impossible for her to pick the best moments. “Honestly, the whole movie is my favourite scene!” she says.

She hopes it will prove much more than simple entertainment. “This movie is going to put the conversation on the table of what a refugee is, of what we want to change,” says Yusra.

El Hosaini, the director, echoes this ambition. “My greatest hope for the film is that it subverts the tired stereotypes of both refugees and young Arab women.

“I want the film to remind us that refugees are regular people with full, regular lives, with hopes and dreams. Ordinary people who’ve had to make unimaginable choices, leaving their homes and risking everything in search of a safer, better life.”

Since becoming the youngest ever UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in 2017, and competing as a swimmer in both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Yusra has emerged as a leading voice for refugees, one that The Swimmers will amplify still further.e

To change perceptions of refugees, understanding must come first, she says. “The education systems have to change: they have to be more open, they have to teach the stories of migrants and refugees,” says Yusra, who hopes sharing her story far and wide, through her 2018 memoir Butterfly and now The Swimmers, will help educate people about the potential, and the value, that all refugees have. “We have to treat everyone the same,” she says.

“The Olympic Games changed the way I think about being a refugee. I walked into the stadium in Rio and I realised that I can inspire so many people. I realised that ‘refugee’ is just a word, and what you would do with it is the most important thing.”

Despite being in the Hollywood spotlight, Yusra has not lost sight of her calling. “A lot still has to change for refugees,” she says. “This is not the end. This is just the beginning.”

https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2022/9/631b527f4/netflix-brings-yusra-mardinis-inspiring-story-world.html

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