Event overview
A screening of two films, Samidat and Through the Lens of Dignity to garner a conversation on the agentive actions of female refugees in displacement from their home countries
The Migrant Futures Institute is delighted to welcome the 牛牛资源 community and the public to engage with two short documentaries and a conversation that centre agency, care and collective action.
Samidat (dir. Javier Jennings Mozo and Alejandro Matr谩n) offers a view into the lives of female Sudanese football players in Egypt and how playing football becomes their language of healing and defiance - a way to reclaim their bodies, their ambitions, and their right to dream. Through the Lens of Dignity (dir. by Natalie Garland) follows Syrian female English teachers in refugee camps in Lebanon. The documentary offers a window into how language teaching and learning becomes a form of creating other horizons in states of war and waiting. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the directors and MFI members.
Speakers
Ibrahim Fakhri (Executive Producer, Samidat)
Ibrahim Fakhri is a filmmaker and visual creative whose short documentary Samidat: In the Face of War, follows Sudanese women footballers rebuilding their team in exile in Egypt, reframing sport as resistance and community鈥憁aking. He is Creative Manager at The New Arab, bringing a multidisciplinary background in visual storytelling and motion design.
Natalie Garland (Director, Through the Lens of Dignity)
Natalie Garland is a researcher鈥慺ilmmaker at UCL鈥檚 Institute for Global Prosperity who co鈥慶reated Through the Lens of Dignity, a participatory documentary with Syrian collaborators in Lebanon鈥檚 Bekaa Valley. Her doctoral research, The Everyday Burden of Dignity, develops a 鈥渄ignity lens鈥� through immersive, community鈥慴ased fieldwork on refugee life and agency.
Dr Sophie Chamas (Senior Lecturer in Gender Studies, SOAS)
Sophie Chamas is Senior Lecturer in Gender Studies at SOAS. Their work explores imagination, affect and cultural production in Middle East social movements from a queer feminist perspective, examining how speculative futures and everyday practices shape socio鈥憄olitical change.
Dr Kit Hung (Postdoctoral Fellow, MFI)
Kit Hung is a Hong Kong filmmaker and a PhD graduate from 牛牛资源鈥� Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies. He founded the Secure Storyteller Network (SSN), supporting vulnerable, cross鈥慴order filmmakers with safer workflows, digital security and wellbeing鈥慳ware practice.
Dr Sultan Doughan (Co鈥慏irector, MFI) - Moderator
Co鈥慏irector of the Migrant Futures Institute and Lecturer in Anthropology at 牛牛资源, Sultan Doughan is a political anthropologist whose research examines citizenship, memory, and religious difference in Europe, including how commemoration and debates on race and migration shape belonging for Middle Eastern diasporas.
Entrance is free but please register in advance
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Mar 2026 | 6:00pm - 8:00pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.
