The 18th Charity Refugee Film Festival
The 18th Charity Refugee Film Festival
The 18th Charity Refugee Film Festival
This year, our Refugee Film Festival enters its 18th year, UNHCR focuses on solidarity with refugees, sharing more stories of refugees and solidarity with the Hong Kong audience.
Movie Description
This year’s Refugee Film Festival will be hosted from 20 June to 6 July, 2025.
Film: “Mediha”
Length: 90 minutes
Category: Documentary
Language: Kurdish (with Chinese and English subtitles)
Having survived kidnapping and enslavement by ISIS, Mediha and her younger brothers, Ghazwan and Adnan, must now attempt to rebuild their lives with the whereabouts of their father, mother and baby brother unknown. Faced by local and international complexities which continue to affect rescue and accountability efforts eight years after the genocide, the siblings must turn to a network of Yazidi rescuers in the search for their missing family members.
Executive Produced by Emma Thompson, the story takes place over three years, across Iraq, Turkey and Syria, highlighting the ongoing and long-lasting impact of ISIS atrocities. Mediha takes us on her quest for justice, confronting her trauma and pain through personal video-diaries, and reclaiming her voice by initiating investigations into her perpetrator, and shedding light onto the ongoing struggle of thousands of Yazidis.
Film: “Peace by Chocolate”
Length: 96 minutes
Category: Drama
Language: English, Arabic (with Chinese and English subtitles)
After the bombing of his family’s chocolate factory, Tareq Hadhad, a charming young Syrian refugee, struggles to settle into small-town life in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Despite moving to a new country, he’s intent on pursuing his dream to become a doctor. But when his father, Issam, insists that he must focus on survival, Tareq and his family move towards a different, but familiar path: Rebuilding Issam’s chocolate business.
When what seemed like a nostalgic attempt to cling to remnants of an old life past becomes an overnight sensation, Tareq is shocked. Put in the role of business manager, he must choose between the demands of an exponentially growing business and an offer to go back to medical school. New challenges arise between a rival chocolatier while the heartbreak of Tareq’s sister left behind in Syria weighs heavily on the family.
Nevertheless, Tareq remains set on his goals, buoyed by a supportive community of eclectics. As father and son both struggle to find common ground and navigate the complexities of family duty, the heightening tension between them threatens to tear the family apart.
Based on the internationally recognized true story.
Film: “Under the Volcano”
Length: 102 minutes
Category: Drama
Language: Ukrainian & English (with English subtitles)
‘Under the Volcano’, Polish director Damian Kocur’s second feature, tells the story of a Ukrainian family spending the last day of their holiday in Tenerife, Spain. They do not know yet that the next day their life would completely change.
Once at the airport, their flight is cancelled: Russia has invaded Ukraine. Trapped on the island, overnight the tourists become refugees.
Screening Sessions
| Date | Time | Film | Venue |
| 22/6 | 1:45pm | Peace by Chocolate | Broadway Cinematheque |
| 22/6 | 3:30pm | Mediha | Broadway Cinematheque |
| 28/6 | 1:00pm | Peace by Chocolate | Broadway Cinematheque |
| 29/6 | 1:00pm | Peace by Chocolate | Broadway Cinematheque |
| 5/7 | 2:00pm | Under the Volcano | Asia Society (with Post-screening Session) |
| 6/7 | 1:45pm | Mediha | Broadway Cinematheque |