Who Owns the Narrative?

WHO OWNS THE NARRATIVE?

Across newsrooms, stages, screens, and funding tables, a growing movement is reshaping how migration and displacement are understood. Join The New Humanitarian for an evening of film and conversation exploring what it looks like when people at the heart of these stories lead the telling — and how that shift can influence the systems that shape their lives.

PROGRAM

6:30pm - doors open; refreshments
6:45-8:00pm - welcome, film screening, panel discussion & Q&A
8:00-8:30pm - closing reception w/ refreshments

GUEST SPEAKERS

Bridgit Antoinette Evans - Artist, culture change strategist, and CEO of the Pop Culture Collaborative

Arian Moayed - Actor, writer, and director; co-Founder of Waterwell

Mazin Sidahmed - Co-Founder and Executive Director, Documented

Annie Slemrod - Journalist, storyteller, and Middle East Editor at The New Humanitarian

FILM SCREENING

We are pleased to include a screening of We Were the Scenery during this program.

Filmed on location in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Long Beach, CA, We Were the Scenery is a short documentary based on the experiences of writer Cathy Linh Che’s parents, two Vietnam War refugees who, while in a refugee camp in the Philippines, were utilized as background extras in Apocalypse Now.

Shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards for Best Documentary Short Film, We Were the Scenery premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2025 where it won the Short Film Jury Prize for Nonfiction. It has been selected for the 2025 DOC NYC Short List and is a 2026 Cinema Eye Honors Nominee.

We Were the Scenery / 2025 / U.S.A. & Canada / Director: Christopher Radcliff, Writer and Producer: Cathy Linh Che, Producer & Cinematographer: Jess X. Snow / Runtime: 15 minutes / Vietnamese with English subtitles

REFRESHMENTS

Refreshments will be provided by Cardamom & Rose Catering, who support newly resettled Afghan Refugee Women, showcasing their delicious morsels for the NYC/JC area & spreading their joy for Afghan cuisine.

PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NEW YORK OFFICE OF THE ROSA LUXEMBURG FOUNDATION

Info: We are pleased to include a screening of We Were the Scenery during this program.
Filmed on location in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Long Beach, CA, We Were the Scenery is a short documentary based on the experiences of writer Cathy Linh Che’s parents, two Vietnam War refugees who, while in a refugee camp in the Philippines, were utilized as background extras in Apocalypse Now.
Shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards for Best Documentary Short Film, We Were the Scenery premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2025 where it won the Short Film Jury Prize for Nonfiction. It has been selected for the 2025 DOC NYC Short List and is a 2026 Cinema Eye Honors Nominee.
We Were the Scenery / 2025 / U.S.A. & Canada / Director: Christopher Radcliff, Writer and Producer: Cathy Linh Che, Producer & Cinematographer: Jess X. Snow / Runtime: 15 minutes / Vietnamese with English subtitles

Info: Refreshments will be provided by Cardamom & Rose Catering, who support newly resettled Afghan Refugee Women, showcasing their delicious morsels for the NYC/JC area & spreading their joy for Afghan cuisine.

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