Open events

CARFMS will be hosting a film screening of the 2023 documentary film, Passage to Freedom (Passage vers la liberté), one of the outcomes of the Hearts of Freedom national research project that conducted 175 video interviews in five languages across Canada. Passage to Freedom features powerful oral histories of Southeast Asian refugees that made the dangerous journeys from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to Canada. The film effectively weaves archival clips of news stories, wartime footage, and interviews with former refugees and Canadian immigration officials. Canada resettled over 210,000 Southeast Asian refugees from 1975 to 1997, making it the longest and largest resettlement of non-European refugees to Canada since World War II. The Canadian response to the refugee crisis was recognized internationally with the UNHCR Nansen Medal in 1986. The 50-minute film delves into the journey of the refugees’ integration into the fabric of Canadian life and highlights the contributions of this first generation and their descendants. After the screening, there will be a question-and-answer session with the filmmaker, researchers, and interviewees. The Passage to Freedom documentary film is available in both English and French versions.