Former Fellow's 'Far From Home' Featured at Multiple Film Festivals

Far from Home—a Pulitzer Center-supported documentary by 2022 Medill graduate Ankita M. Kumar has been accepted into eight film festivals and counting. Far from Home is the story of Samira Faizi, who moved to India from Afghanistan in search of a better life, but is now grappling with slow asylum processes and the lack of a refugee law to protect her rights. This is the first-ever film about Afghan refugees in India. 

Far from Home premiered at the Academy Award-qualifying American Documentary and Animation Film Festival in Palm Springs, California, in March, followed by a screening at the San Francisco Documentary Festival in June. Far from Home also screened at the prestigious Chicago South Asian Film Festival (CSAFF) and won an award in the Best Short Documentary category. The film was also a finalist for the prestigious Japan Prize.

Below is the complete list of festivals that have accepted Far from Home. More information on these festivals can be found on their websites. This post will be updated as more festivals accept the documentary and hold in-person or online screenings for those who wish to watch Far from Home. 

• College Filmmakers (CFM) Film Festival: Virtual screening. Won Best Debut Film, Best Director, Best Editing and Best Cinematography 
• American Documentary and Animation Film Festival: In-person screening 
• San Francisco Documentary Festival: In-person screening
• Chicago South Asian Film Festival: In-person screening. Runner up in the Best Short Documentary category
• DC South Asian Festival: Virtual screening. 
• Student Los Angeles Film Awards: Screening details TBD. Finalist. 
• Tasveer Film Festival: Virtual screening. 
• Berlin Indie Film Festival: In-person screening. 

Below is the list of awards that Far from Home, the film and its corresponding content, has won so far: 

• Best Debut Film, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Cinematography at the CFM Film Festival 
• Finalist, the Japan Prize 
• Finalist, Student Los Angeles Film Awards 
• Professional Excellence Award, Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States 
• Runner up, Best Short Documentary, Chicago South Asian Film Festival