04/12/2018 –  The Third Global Migration Film Festival will open in Bangkok on Friday 14th December ahead of International Migrants Day on 18th December. The 3-day event marks IOM´s third year of screening documentaries, features and short films that explore the themes of migration and human mobility in Thailand.

Supported by local partners Save the Children, the Embassy of Canada, IOM X and the Bangkok Screening Room, the Festival will feature seven award-winning films that capture the promises and challenges of migration, and the unique contributions that migrants make to their new communities.  

Three critically-acclaimed international films - A Thousand Girls Like Me, Fremde Tochter (Strange Daughter) and The Merger - will premiere in Thailand for the first time.

A Thousand Girls Like Me follows the story of 23-year-old Kathera from Kabul, a victim of sexual abuse, who battles against cultural, family and legal pressures in Afghanistan in her attempt to seek justice.

German feature Fremde Tochter (Strange Daughter) tells the tale of a young couple destined to be together, but stuck between traditions, religion, contradictions and prejudices.

Australian comedy The Merger showcases one man’s attempt to revive a struggling local football team with the help of refugees.

The Bangkok premiere of the long-awaited 2018 Danish documentary Heartbound will also take place at the Festival. The documentary follows the lives of four Thai-Danish couples over ten years in an intimate chronicle that explores universal questions of love and romance, dreams and everyday hardship, life and death, and the nature of family.

Following its screening on 16 December at 14.00, a 30-minute question and answer session with film director Sine Plambech will take place.

Also to be screened are Academy Award nominee Monsieur Lazhar, short film The Other Side of Dooman River and LGBT documentary Sidney & Friends.

The diverse film line up aims to provide a variety of perspectives and celebrate cultural diversity. The overall goal of the Festival is to open audiences to a broader discussion about migration.

“The Global Migration Film Festival is IOM’s premiere event in engaging the public on migration issues,” said Dana Graber Ladek, IOM Thailand Chief of Mission. “Challenging negative stereotypes and promoting a positive narrative of migration in extremely important in this day and age where anti-migrant sentiment is on the rise globally.”

The Festival will run from 14 - 16 December at the Bangkok Screening Room. Admission is free. Tickets will be distributed on a first come, first served basis on the day of each film’s screening.

For further information please contact Reuben Lim at IOM Thailand. Email: rlim@iom.int, Tel: +66 2 343 9370.