At the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, Cate Blanchett spoke passionately about the urgent humanitarian and artistic mission behind the Displacement Film Fund — an initiative designed to empower displaced filmmakers and support stories shaped by migration, exile and survival.
In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter India’s Anupama Chopra, Blanchett reflected on the philosophy guiding the initiative and the responsibility of the global film community to create space for voices often pushed to the margins.
“The way we treat people at our most vulnerable defines us all,” Blanchett had said in an announcement for the fund.
Speaking at Cannes, Blanchett explained that the larger goal of the fund is “to support either displaced filmmakers or filmmakers who are deeply engaged with the issues around displacement, and to help them continue their work.”
But she was careful to point out that artists affected by displacement should not be boxed into stories solely about trauma or identity. “A displaced filmmaker — a refugee filmmaker, a filmmaker from South Sudan or someone coming from Palestine — doesn’t necessarily want to speak directly about displacement,” she said. “They might want to make a film about a circus.”
For Blanchett, the fund is ultimately about creative freedom. “It’s about giving them the same freedom any artist should have: the freedom to continue their work,” she said.
The actor also highlighted the staggering reality of modern displacement. “The average period of displacement now lasts upwards of 20 years,” Blanchett noted. “That’s an entire career that can be put on hold.”
She revealed that conversations around championing refugee and displaced artists first took shape during the Global Refugee Forum a few years ago. Since then, the initiative has rapidly expanded. “It’s been incredibly exciting to see how quickly the fund has come together. We’ve already had one cohort, and this is now the second edition,” she said.
Blanchett added that the mission extends beyond financing projects. “Our responsibility with the fund is not just to help get these films made, but to make sure they are seen in the broadest possible way.”