Join Chapter to celebrate Refugee Week from 16 – 22 June and experience the SAFAR Film Festival from 21 – 28 June.
For this year’s theme ‘Community as a Superpower’, Chapter have programmed a selection of films and events designed to unite people from different backgrounds, honouring the strength and creativity of refugees and asylum seekers in our community.
Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the talents, innovation and determination of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. The programme will provide an empowering platform for displaced individuals to share their voices authentically, harnessing creative expression to build understanding and promote social change.
SAFAR Film Festival, the UK’s leading platform for independent Arab cinema, presents its landmark 10th edition, marking its fourth time at Chapter. The selection of films captures the rich variety of nuanced perspectives and artistic excellence emerging from the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region. At a time when authentic portrayal is a vital form of resistance, the programme invites audiences to encounter stories that are grounded in place and yet are universally compelling. Filmmakers utilise memory, imagination and defiance to craft deeply human acts of storytelling.
Full programme:
- Friday 20 June: No One is Illegal + Q&A with director hosted by Oasis Cardiff
- Friday 20 June: SAFAR: The Village Next to Paradise
- Saturday 21 June: SAFAR: The Encampments
- Saturday 21 June: SAFAR: Watch out for Zouzou
- Sunday 22 June Cardiff Animation Festival: Stories of Strength from the Children of Gaza + discussion and workshop
- Tuesday 24 June: SAFAR: Sudan Remember Us
- Friday 27 June: SAFAR: A State of Passion + Q&A with director and producer
The Encampments, a brave and powerful new documentary, follows the Palestine solidarity protests that erupted across university campuses in 2024. With contributions from professors, whistleblowers and student activists, including detained student Mahmoud Khalil; this documentary takes us inside America’s student response with incredible intimacy to shed light on a movement that demands peace and transparency. Screenings will take place from 21-26 June.
The newly restored Watch Out for Zou Zou, a beloved 1970s Egyptian musical will be shown 22 June 5pm as part of SAFAR. This fantastic restoration of a musical classic starring the legendary Soad Hosni, known as the ‘Marilyn Monroe of Arab Cinema’ is filled with wit, romance and cultural tension.
"Refugee Week has been important to our programming for many years as we celebrate Cardiff as a City of Sanctuary and screen films that support refugees in Wales to connect with each other and share their culture with us. Working with the SAFAR Film Festival again this year we explore films about Sudan, Palestine and Somalia. We’re partnering with Cardiff Animation Festival on Stories of Strength from the Children of Gaza, with Oasis Refugee Centre with a Q&A for No One Is Illegal and with Cardiff Stop the War on a panel discussion for The Encampments."
—Claire Vaughan, Cinema Programme Manager at Chapter
“Refugee Week is an incredibly important time to celebrate the contributions of sanctuary seekers and raise awareness about the challenges they face. This year’s theme is ‘community as a superpower’ which is why we are delighted to work in partnership with Chapter to bring communities together for a week of wonderful events.”
—Susie Ventris-Field, CEO of Oasis
Chapter invites individuals and community groups to take part, learn and reflect, standing in solidarity with displaced people everywhere.
For further details on the whole programme, visit Refugee Week 2025.