In this QMU Podcast episode, Walid Salhab, now an award-winning filmmaker and media practice lecturer at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, shares his early experiences as a refugee and immigrant fleeing war torn Lebanon and how it felt to find that no-one wanted to hear his stories once he reached safety in the UK. He is speaking out now to influence the current discourse about refugees and their right to sanctuary. His lived experience has influenced his short films which give voice to the marginalized and dispossessed and have won accolades at film festivals worldwide.

During this intimate and emotional interview, Walid opens up to his friend and colleague Emma Wood, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication at Queen Margaret University, about the impact of the start of the war in Lebanon, his time spent as a child in Iraq and his work retrieving injured soldiers from the fighting. Walid also discusses his varied work as short filmmaker, on projects such as The Kelpies and Avaritia, and his passion for producing thought-provoking films which tell the stories of refugees and migrants.

View the trailer of Walid’s latest film ‘The Sea of Hope’ at: https://vimeo.com/661266501