Darlington's Dedicated Live Music Venue & Studios
Connected Communities: Stories and Cultural Practices in Darlington
15–21 June 2026
As part of REFUGEE WEEK in Darlington we invite you to a week of exhibitions, events, and film screenings celebrating the stories, creativity, and cultures that shape Darlington today. Bringing together work created by local residents – including migrants and long-term communities – the programme explores themes of home, belonging, and shared experience through art, storytelling, and film.
Everyone is welcome – come along, explore, and connect.
Connected Communities is led by the Institute for Collective Place Leadership at Teesside University in collaboration with Creative Darlington, Centre for Local Studies, Hopetown Darlington, The Forum Music Studios , and Darlington Assistance for Refugees, and is supported by the AHRC Impact Acceleration Account and Creative Darlington. In partnership with the Stockton and Darlington Railway 26 miles Heritage Project and funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
Flee: An animated documentary telling the true story about a man’s need to confront his past in order to truly have a future. Amin arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Denmark from Afghanistan. Today, at 36, he is a successful academic and is getting married to his long-time boyfriend. A secret he has been hiding for over 20 years threatens to ruin the life he has built for himself. For the first time, he is sharing his story with his close friend.
Run Time: 1 hour 29 mins
Age Certification: 15
Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
