Saint Louis University Hosting Screening of Refugee Student's Film
Maggie Rotermund
Senior Media Relations Specialist
maggie.rotermund@slu.edu
314-977-8018
Reserved for members of the media.
ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis University will host a screening of a film directed by Koang Simon Thot, a senior undergraduate student and resident of Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya where he pursues his degree remotely.
Thot's 15-minute fictional film short, "Destiny Can Be chosen, Fate Cannot,” will be screened on Thursday Oct. 29.
The film follows a South Sudanese girl as she navigates issues including as bride price, education and community conflict resolution in her path toward adulthood as a refugee in Kenya. The screening of the film will include a question and answer session with the director.
Thot said he hopes audiences connect with the film's message that courage and determination can help people survive the challenges life throws at them.
“I want my film to be screened at Saint Louis University because it tells a part of the reality here and the impact of SLU’s scholarship program for refugees made in partnership with the non-profit JWL,” Thot said. “It is good that people can know there are lives being changed on this side of the world. I want them to know that a young girl with no hope for further studies can access great SLU lessons through the remote BA program and be changed into a better person even though she was ruled by a curse from their young age.”
Thot is a part of the first cohort of SLU-JWL. The Saint Louis University-Jesuit Worldwide Learning program offers bachelor’s degrees to international students displaced by conflict, lack of opportunity, and poverty in places such as refugee camps in Nigeria, Kenya and Malawi.
SLU-JWL students will graduate with a B.A. in General Studies through the School for Professional Studies. Thot and the members of the first cohort are on track to graduate in summer 2027.
Thot’s next film project will focus on struggling single mothers in the refugee camp.
Event Details
- When: Doors open at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28. The film and a Q&A with the author will begin at 5:20 p.m.
- Where: Saint Louis University’s Brouster Hall
- Admission: Free with registration
Jesuit Worldwide Learning
JWL provides equitable high-quality tertiary learning to people and communities at the margins of societies – be it through poverty, location, lack of opportunity, conflict or forced displacement – so all can contribute their knowledge and voices to a global community of learners and together foster hope to create a more peaceful and humane world.