Join UNHCR at the Barbican on World Refugee Day

To mark World Refugee Day, UNHCR UK is hosting the London premier of Megan Mylan’s documentary Simple As Water. 

This powerful film follows Syrian refugee families in different countries, coping with the impact of war, separation and the ongoing search for a safe future away from their home country.  

Filmed over the course of five years in five countries including Turkey, Greece, Germany, Syria and the US, Mylan’s sensitive camera reifies the universal importance of family. 

A panel discussion immediately after the screening will delve into the films production, the representation of refugee experiences and what it means to empower people to tell their own stories.  

“I’m so pleased Simple as Water is part of UNHCR’s World Refugee Day events. The experiences we share in this film feel particularly resonate at this moment, when in Ukraine we are once again witnessing the wrenching devastation that war inflicts on families.” 

Megan Mylan, Director

Joining Vicky Tennant, UNHCR Representative to the UK, on the panel will be the films co-producer Hazem Obid and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and Syrian Refugee Maya Ghazal. 

Meet the panel

Maya Ghazal

Maya is Syrian refugee Maya Ghazal was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR in 2021 after 4 years of committed support. 

In 2015, Maya Ghazal fled Damascus and aged 16 started a new life in the UK under a family reunification scheme.  Unable to speak the language she taught herself English and overcame numerous barriers to secure a place in school to restart her interrupted studies. Through a combination of hard work and tenacity she is now is studying for a degree in Aviation Engineering and Pilot Studies at University in London. 

Hazem Obid

Hazem is a Videographer and media producer. Raised in Masyaf, Syria, Hazem currently lives in Frankfurt, Germany and works in Europe and Africa.

He graduated from the University of Damascus in Media Studies. He left Syria in 2014. In Germany, Hazem completed a Master’s degree in International Media and Cultural Work from the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. 

“To me, Simple As Water will always be a family picture of Syrians taken at a drastic moment that will change their lives and their identity forever. It’s something private, not a “refugee film”. And yet the aggression on Ukraine –almost by the same perpetrators – reminds me how similar humans can look like, when experiencing a horrifying war and an uncertain future.”

Hazem Obid, Co-producer

The screening is free, but reservations are essential. You can book through the Barbican website.