In Solidarity

Less than a quarter-century since the last deadly fighting was over in Eastern Europe the winds of war have again engulfed the region. Under attack, hundreds of thousands of civilians are fleeing Ukraine and pouring into neighboring countries. Non-Ukrainian residents and Ukrainians alike are seeking shelter in Romania and Poland, and farther afield. The danger of a widening conflict is ominously present.

Please check these two internationally recognized relief organizations working with refugees worldwide:

International Rescue Committee, the IRC, is already working on the ground in Poland; and the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, helping displaced families.

Romania has already accepted a large number of refugees, and the Embassy of Romania, together with the Romanian United Fund, has established Ukrainian Peace Fund to support health facilities with necessary supplies such as medicine, as well as food and hygiene items.

Art, especially visceral cinema such as recent movies by Ukrainian directors, brings us up close to what people on the ground experience. Art by itself may not stop tanks, but it gives the fuel to the human spirit to fight them.

Memorable films from the SEEfest archives

Some of the memorable films from the SEEfest archives about either the societies at war or in the post-conflict state include No Man’s Land, The Cordon, Before the Rain, Borderline Lovers, Kukumi, The Paper Will Be Blue, California Dreamin’, The War is Over, Medal of Honor, Valley of Peace, A Day on the River Drina, Fuse, Sarajevo, My Beautiful Country, Half Shaved, Babai, A Good Wife, Refugee 532, That Trip We Took With Dad, Politiki Kouzina, Omar and Us, Ethnophobia, The Grey War, Men Don’t Cry, The Other Side of Everything, The Diary of Diana B., Zana, So, What’s Freedom?, and Quo Vadis, Aida?

They are mementos of the past that should not be forgotten.

Cover image is a still from Quo Vadis, Aida?

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