CCCL co-organized the film screening and talk session with the CCCL Alumni and the representative from IOM at the 2nd Regional Symposium on Climate Displacement in Bangkok

On 25 June 2025, CCCL collaborated with International Organization for Migration (IOM) Asia-Pacific to screen 3 short films in the ‘Through Their Eyes: Stories from Climate-Affected Communities’ film screening program as a part of the 2nd Regional Climate Displacement Symposium in Bangkok. The event is held at Pullman Bangkok Hotel G from 25-27 June 2025, hosted by the IOM Climate Mobility Innovation Lab (CMIL).

CCCL has presented the real stories of migration through the following 3 short films:

1. Reflection in the Marsh - Breech Asher Harani (Philippines)

A day in the life of three childhood friends and indigenous descendants whose life mission is to protect and preserve Agusan Marsh, an ecologically significant wetland in the Philippines affected by climate and human-induced environmental impacts, highlighting the challenges they face and their hopes for the future of their ancestral land.

2. The Swallowing Sea - Afif Fahmi (Indonesia)

After 11 years, Arga, a documentary filmmaker, returns to his childhood village submerged in rob. He returns for a pilgrimage to his grandmother’s grave.

3. Lost in Mekong - Jessada Khimsook  (Thailand)

The Mekong River, revered with water ownership by villagers as community law, shapes a tradition known as 'Luang Mong' in joint fishing. However, as the river undergoes changes, the practice of 'deception' takes a pivotal turn, impacting lives and tearing some families apart.

After the film screening, Dr. Busakorn Suriyasarn, Team Leader and representative from CCCL, had a discussion with Breech Asher Harani, CCCL Film Grant Alumni 2023 and the director of Reflection in the Marsh from the Philippines, and Itayi Viriri, Media and Communications, IOM, about the impact of climate change on people's migration. They also talked about 'short films are the key' in raising awareness and urgency among the general public about the issue of Climate Change.

"I chose to tell their stories because I myself, is a victim of climate change. Way back in 2012, there was a categorized super typhoon for the very first time that completely ravaged our community. I didn't even care about climate change before. I have no idea what it is, but when it happened to us...

I immediately felt a sense of responsibility as someone with the talent in filmmaking and video making to tell stories that affect people like me. - Breech Asher Harani, Film Director of Reflection in the Marsh

"We still need to tell the story and these stories need to get to the people who make the decisions, the power brokers, the people who know what needs to be done but are not doing what needs to be done.

The number of people who are going to be migrating because of climate change as an adaptation strategy is going to be significant. Migration is going to be exacerbated by people trying to move away from all those elements that you mentioned, we have to manage it. - Itayi Viriri, Media and Communications, International Organization for Migration

This symposium provides an in-depth discussion continuing from the first symposium on migration in Asia and the Pacific, which is likely to increase in the future due to climate change. IOM established IOM Climate Mobility Innovation Lab (CMIL) as a key regional hub for innovation, capacity building, and collaboration to cope this situation; together with technical partners – the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute (UPRI) and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) – initiated the co-creation of the Risk Index for Climate Displacement (RICD). CMIL also has the Climate Catalytic Fund (CCF) which is to be used as a guideline for addressing and mitigating future migration issues locally, nationally, and the Asia-Pacific region along with the scientists and experts from across the region participating in this symposium.