Refugee613 in Conversation with Hani al Moulia and Jean-Nicolas Beuze at OWFF 2017

Hani al Moulia is a university student, Syrian refugee, and talented photographer. He’s also legally blind. Forced to flee his home country at the age of 18, Hani spent three years residing in a refugee camp in Lebanon before he and his family were granted refugee status in Canada.

Since moving to Canada, he has gone on to hone his skills as a photographer and has held public exhibitions of his work with Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. Hani was to be one of the first members of the Prime Minister’s Youth Council in 2016 and currently studies at Ryerson University in Toronto.

Hear this exceptional young man speak, alongside UNHCR representative in Canada Jean-Nicolas Beuze, and be inspired at the 28th Annual One World Film Festival this weekend.

The talk will follow screenings of the moving and thought-provoking documentaries Fantassút / Rain on the borders and Through My Eyes: Hani’s Journey, presented in partnership with Refugee613, Oxfam Canada and UNHCR Canada at Saint Paul University on October 1 at 1:30PM.

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Federica Foglia, FANTASSÚT / Rain on the borders provides a glimpse into the lives of refugees who have been stranded for months in the Idomeni refugee camp on the Greek/Macedonian border and who reside in a forgotten twilight zone, as they wait for the European borders to open.

Filmmaker and video journalist Zahra Mackaoui‘s Through My Eyes: Hani’s Journey follows the journey of Syrian refugee Hani Al Moulia from the camps in Lebanon to Canada. Told through his poetic and breataking photos, Hani’s story is one of a young man who refuses to give up on his dreams despite having been caught up in the midst of a civil war that has led to one of the most profound refugee crises of the past decade.

Conflict in Syria has led to a humanitarian crisis that has forced nearly 12 million to flee their homes due to violence and civil war. Oxfam Canada, UNHCR Canada and Refugee613 are part of a network of organizations that support and advocate for refugees from Syria and all over the world and play an important role in helping to resettle in Canada those who, for a variety of reasons, have had to flee their home countries.

Learn more about their work and their efforts in Ottawa and abroad to support refugees and displaced persons by joining us for this special one-day-only presentation at the One World Film Festival. Click here for more information and to get tickets and passes for this and other thought-provoking screenings and talks on global issues.

If you are a member of the media and would like to interview Hani al Moulia and attend this event this weekend in Ottawa, please contact Communications Coordinator David Henderson at media[at]oneworldarts.ca.

Festival passes and tickets are also available for any media wanting to cover this or other screenings and talk taking place September 28 to October 1 as part of the 28th Annual One World Film Festival.