The Pop-Up Cafe & DARA (Deal Refugee Aid) Presents …

An evening of short films and food at the Lighthouse to mark Refugee Week.

From emergency responders in El Salvador supporting their communities affected by violence to the familiar smell and taste of home to bring comfort, the films reveal the diverse ways we build and sustain our communities.

All proceeds will go to Care4calais; a charity that delivers emergency aid to refugees in Calais and areas affected by the European migrant crisis.

MENU

Mejadra, tahini dressing, spicy tomato salsa & raspberry and fig leaf sorbet.

LOS COMANDOS

Director(s): Juliana Schatz Preston and Joshua Bennett (Running time 30mins)

Mimi, a 16-year-old high school student, is growing up in El Salvador where extreme gang and police violence produce the country with the highest murder rate in the world. Her family and community struggle to survive in a situation that is often referred to as the ‘new civil war’. But Mimi finds refuge in a group of volunteer paramedics called the Comandos de Salvamento.

THE SCENT OF GERANIUM

Director: Naghmeh Farzaneh (Running time 5 mins)

By using her own experience as an Iranian international student in the U.S., Farzaneh gives voice to the fears, doubts, and complex range of emotions that immigrants face and makes a powerful call for a more compassionate approach.

JOURNEY MERCIES

Director: Tomisin Adepeju (Running time 15mins)

Inspired by Adepeju’s own experience as a Nigerian immigrant in London, the film explores his parents’ unfulfilled dream of returning to Nigeria to live in the house they built. Captured in the nostalgic VHS aesthetic of classic Nollywood, it beautifully portrays the immigrant experience and the deep longing for belonging.

BURNT MILK

Director: Joseph Douglas Elmhirst (Running time 10 mins)

Burnt Milk is a film named after the common Caribbean dessert made by boiling condensed milk until it’s caramelised. In the film, this dessert is one of the few comforts afforded to Una, an alienated and isolated Jamaican midwife living in the United Kingdom.

Themes: Migration, Displacement, Jamaica, Food, Joy