Free event! Sponsored by the Seattle Globalist

Films are in English, Farsi and Arabic, with English subtitles.
Total running time: 65 minutes
Best for ages 10+

Cinema is an empathy machine, and this collection of short narrative and documentary films takes young people deep inside the lives of their counterparts from Iran, Syria and Yemen. Meet the children of these countries, and you’ll come away with a deeper understanding of our shared bonds as the human family. All children want to laugh, to love, to learn, to find friends and fulfillment, and live in peace.

Shirin’s Dream
(Maryam Abdoli, Iran, live action, 2016, 15 min)

After a young girl is turned down for a part in the school play, her teacher learns a lesson about persistence and ingenuity.

Displacement
(Shatha Alghabri, Malaysia, live action, 2016, 5 min)
PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival winner: 2017 Children’s Film Festival Seattle Award and PLURAL+ 2016 IOM, Migration Research & Training Centre Award

Yemeni children share their experiences of being refugees as they recount what they have seen and what they miss.

The Magic Shoes
(Sahand Nikoukar, US, 2014, 19 min)

All Kamron, a nine-year-old Iranian immigrant, needs to fit in at his new school is a pair of Air Jordans. Just one problem – his parents won’t buy them. Watch the trailer>

I Am Aliya
(Matic Carl, Martin Deisinger, & Mojca Spik, Slovenia, live action, 2016, 3 min)
Silk Road Award, PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival International Jury Award PLURAL+ 2016 Insight Award PLURAL+ 2016

For Aliya, a Syrian refugee, life has gone still as she reflects on her experiences and her hopes.

A Year Without My Parents
(Els van Driel, The Netherlands, live action, 2015, 24 min)
Children’s Film Festival Seattle 2007, Children’s Jury Prize for Best Documentary Short for ages 8+

When Tareq flees Syria, he leaves his family behind. In this emotionally involving documentary, he adjusts to his new life in the Netherlands and wonders about his choice. Watch the trailer>