World Refugee Day

In observance of World Refugee Day, the Skirball Cultural Center's public engagement committee and POV, a showcase for independent nonfiction films on PBS, co-hosted an evening honoring and highlighting the stories of Syrian refugees. As of 2022, over 12 million Syrians were registered as refugees with the United Nations. Over half of these refugees are children.

Attendees were invited to view the Future Aleppo installation, celebrating the capacity for resilience, hope, and perseverance in times of darkness. Future Aleppo was created by a young Syrian boy and aspiring architect named Mohammed Qutaish while living through the indiscriminately violent war in Aleppo.

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A screening and discussion of Dalya's Other Country about a mother and daughter displaced by the Syrian conflict followed. The panel discussion about the global refugee crisis included producer Mustafa Rony Zeno (Dalya's Other Country), filmmaker Daphne Matziaraki (4.1 Miles), Skirball curator Cate Thurston, and International Documentary Association Executive Director Simon Kilmurry. 

In honor of audience members observing Ramadan, a prayer space was available to attendees and an Iftar was served following the screening.