UN Women and United Nations Kosovo* Team-supported movie Home wins British short film – BAFTA award
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In February, UN Women Kosovo supported “Home” that takes the award for British Short Film at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Film Awards (BAFTA) 2017. This makes the movie Kosovo’s first production to win this prestigious award.
Home is a Kosovo-British co-production. The short film follows a British family’s journey as refugees as they flee from violence. The film sends a message of compassion and understanding for refugees and the difficult choices they must make in the wake of fear, destruction, and chaos. The film portrays many forms of the human rights violations that often occur during conflicts, including sexual violence. Home was inspired by the stories of Kosovo refugees and made in response to the hate and discrimination that many refugees face today. It was shot and produced in Kosovo.
UN Kosovo Team (UNKT) provided financial and logistical support for the film, and UN Women Kosovo provided in-depth technical support to ensure that the movie included an accurate, explicit and sensitive portrayal of conflict-related sexual violence. UN Women Head of Office in Kosovo, Flora Macula, insisted on the importance of reaching a worldwide audience to raise awareness towards the reality of sexual violence used as a weapon of war. ‘’We need to be conscious of the fact that somewhere in the world someone is suffering sexual violence at this very moment,’’ Ms. Macula said, urging to break the stigma surrounding survivors of sexual abuse.
The film had a very wide reach, raising global awareness on this issue, and has won 18 international awards, including the prestigious BAFTA award for best British Short. Recently, impact of the film was mentioned at the UN Security Council Meeting held this February as “an example of building bridges through culture…to address global issues.”
“Our heart is love. Our soul is compassion. We need that to be reflected within our governments and we need that to be reflected in our government’s policy in relation to how they deal with other countries across the Atlantic in their administrations and to not put up with any racism, homophobia, Islamophobia,” announced Home Director, Daniel Mulloy as he accepted the award for British Short Film at the EE British Academy Film Awards ceremony, held Sunday evening, 12 February at the Royal Opera House in London.
In collaboration between British and Kosovar film-makers, writer and director Daniel Mulloy worked alongside Kosovo actors, producers, and UNKT communications specialist Shpend Qamili, who were themselves refugees during the 1990s and were forced to flee Kosovo.
The trailer for the film can be watched here. The film was released worldwide on June 20 World Refugee Day in 2016. It has received support from internationally known artists such as Coldplay, Dizzee Rascal and Wiley who donated music to the drama.
* All references to Kosovo in this story shall be understood in full compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999)