VIENNA, 23 June 2025 – The documentary “Another Summer”, directed by Alžběta Kovandová-Bartoníčková and David B. Edwards, tells the stories of Afghan and Ukrainian refugees in Europe through their eyes. The film directors provided training and equipment to a group of Afghan and Ukrainian first-time filmmakers who had taken refuge in different European countries after the Taliban takeover in 2021 and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The screening was followed by a panel discussion with experts, moderated by Sonja Wintersberger, Officer-in-Charge of UNIS Vienna.
Melissa Fleming, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, emphasized the profound role of personal storytelling to generate public understanding and empathy. She also addressed the importance of trustworthy information in our digital world, referring to the launch of the UN Global Principles on Information Integrity, which she described as “a blueprint for a healthy information ecosystem” and emphasized: “We can’t have a thriving democracy if our information environment is polluted.”
Oleksandr Chermnykh, Filming and Post-production Assistant of “Another Summer”, provided insights into the film’s making, particularly the ethical sensitivity and emotional complexity: “Interviewing refugees is not an easy thing to do, it is emotional.” He also talked about the beautiful part of this experience, referring to a special power to talk about things that you probably would not normally ask.
Marie-Claire Sowinetz, from UNHCR Austria, drew attention to the UNHCR Global Trends report 2024. With more than 122 million people forcibly displaced worldwide, she emphasized the importance of films like “Another Summer” to reveal the human stories behind the headlines and figures. Addressing the theme of resilience in the face of shrinking resources, Sowinetz offered a hopeful call to action: “When I ask people, what it is that helped them to arrive in Austria or any other country, very often what comes to mind is this one person that crossed paths with them at some point. Be it a teacher, a neighbour – and when I look here in the room, every one of us can be such a person that can change a life in a positive way. Even the smallest gesture counts.”
