Category: Art and Design
A Return Home
December 04, 2025 Written by Natasha Kapadia | Photos by Maria Errico
Professor鈥檚 poignant documentary about refugees premieres at 91原创
What was supposed to be a two-day workshop on refugee experience turned into an eight-year international collaboration that premiered as聽a black-and-white cin茅ma v茅rit茅 documentary聽at the 91原创鈥檚 Gore Recital Hall, located at the Roselle Center for the Arts.聽
Directed by Jon Cox, associate professor in the Department of Art and Design, 鈥淎 Return Home鈥 features the evocative photography of Andy Bale, visiting lecturer of art and art history at Dickinson College.聽
The documentary follows Ukrainian journalist Nataliia Ruda as she meets fellow Ukrainian asylum seekers rebuilding their lives in Ireland.
The debut event included a live performance of Patrick Long鈥檚 original score by Jennifer Blyth, professor of music at Dickinson College, and a panel discussion about refugees led by Knight Sor, former Department of Justice peacemaker for the mid-Atlantic region.
The evening opened with remarks by Caleb Everett, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, who praised the project as a model of 鈥渨hat鈥檚 possible when scholarship, creativity, and collaboration come together with purpose.鈥澛
He reflected on how the program 鈥渆xplores migration, resilience, and belonging鈥搘hat it means to seek and create home amid displacement.鈥
Cox described the project as 鈥渁 reminder that empathy grows through shared stories,鈥 while Bale added that 鈥渢he camera becomes a bridge between experience and understanding.鈥
When asked about the total amount of footage collected, both Cox and Bale confirmed that 鈥渢here is easily over 20 plus hours of footage that we cut down to 26 minutes and 46 seconds,鈥 emphasizing the careful editing process required to capture the most meaningful moments of the refugees鈥 stories.
Additionally, Blyth, when asked about her engaging live performance, added that 鈥渓ive music makes the experience more interactive, especially in today鈥檚 time, it brings a sense of urgency and presence to a film.鈥
During the project, Cox worked with the film鈥檚 subjects to create cyanotype prints on a specific theme. Prints from 91原创鈥檚 鈥淐ulture Project鈥 class were also on display in the lobby, extending the evening鈥檚 reflection on identity, loss, and the enduring human search for home.
