The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers connects US-based documentary filmmakers with communities throughout the South for screenings and conversations around important stories and the art of filmmaking. This special screening of REFUGE will be followed by a post-film discussion with Director Din Blankenship & O Cinema's Director of Programming Matt Walter.
THE FILM
REFUGE is a story about fear and love in the American South. A leader in a white nationalist hate group finds healing from the people he once hated: a Muslim heart doctor and his town of refugees. Chris is a husband and father, a veteran, and until recently, a leader in the KKK. He started hating Muslims when the planes hit the Twin Towers on 9/11, but is forced to confront his hate when he receives a text from Muslim refugee, Heval. REFUGE illustrates the false promises of hate and reveals where real and lasting refuge is found. Where there is love, there is refuge.
REFUGE is set in the most diverse square mile in America (Clarkston, Georgia) and follows a Syrian Kurd, a former Klansman, and a town of refugees who seek belonging in a country that blames them for its problems. Swimming against the current of an increasingly polarized and isolated America, each must decide whether they will risk knowing and being known by those who oppose them. Ultimately, REFUGE uncovers what is possible when we leave the security of our tribes and what is at stake for our country if we don’t.
SPECIAL GUEST
Din Blankenship (Director, Producer) is an architectural designer-turned-filmmaker. Her first documentary, REFUGE premiered at DOC NYC in 2021 and has won numerous film festival awards. Prior to filmmaking, Din worked in architecture for over a decade. She has a Masters in Architecture with High Distinction from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia. Din has designed transitional shelters for refugees and was invited to present her work at the Symposium for the Architecture of Disaster Relief. In 2021, Din founded Late Bloomer Films and is in pre-production on Love, Your Birth Mom, a documentary that follows several women with unplanned pregnancies who are considering adoption, each ultimately deciding whether to raise their children or place them into the arms of another family.