Refuge
ROLE
Executive Producer
TYPE
Documentary Feature Film
Production TEAM
Clarkston Film LLC, Erin Bernhardt, Din Blankenship, Katie Couric Media
Watch the Trailer
About the Film
REFUGE is an award-winning feature-length documentary that follows a leader in a white nationalist hate group who finds healing from the people he once hated - a Muslim heart doctor and his town of refugees. Chris is a husband and father, a veteran, and until recently, a leader in the KKK. He started hating Muslims when the planes hit the Twin Towers on 9/11, but is forced to confront his hate when he receives a text from Muslim refugee, Heval.
REFUGE is set in the most diverse square mile in America - Clarkston, Georgia - and follows a Syrian Kurd, a former Klansman, and a town of refugees who seek belonging in an increasingly polarized and isolated America. Ultimately, REFUGE uncovers what is possible when we leave the security of our tribes and what is at stake for our country if we don’t.
In this time of deep polarization, we hope that after watching REFUGE, viewers will have an awakened sense of empathy. Our impact and education campaign is crafted to help our audience deepen their understanding of the complex issues addressed in the film and rekindle their sense of compassion towards one another.
“If you’ve ever despaired that America is too divided to come together again, you’re about to experience a glimmer of hope… Refuge should be required viewing by every single person in the country.”
– AWFJ
“Refuge addresses one of the US’s most urgent problems: the lack of civil dialogue, or any dialogue, between our warring cultural factions.”
– DOC NYC
“The best thing about this film is that it doesn’t reduce either man to a stereotype — or even to a pat story of redemption. Bernhardt and Blankenship do what they want the people who watch the movie to do: They observe, they listen and they stay open to accepting people, no matter who they are.”