CW#6 l SEASON 3 l Of Memories and Dreams

Theme: Resistance

3 May 2023, Wednesday | Season 3, Episode 6

Apartment Project and online

 

Livestream link: https://youtube.com/live/eh4bDuf9l2Q

Organized by the Apartment Project Berlin and funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe

 

Of Memories and Dreams

 

19.30 Film screening of «A Letter from Raqqa» and «The Other Side of the River», followed by a Q&A session with filmmakers Antonia Kilian and Arash Asadi, moderated by Şirin Fulya Erensoy

 

In the Kurdish struggle for freedom, resistance at the intersection of grassroots democracy and feminism has largely empowered the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria, known as Rojava, to assume authority over the fighting powers in the region. The short film «A Letter from Raqqa» and the feature-length documentary «The Other Side of the River» by Antonia Kilian and Arash Asadi, dealing with the dreams, memories and realities within revolution and war, were shot in this region. Following the screening of the films, the filmmakers will discuss these topics and their artistic collaborations with moderator Şirin Fulya Erensoy.

 

 

«A Letter from Raqqa» (2020, 9:40 min, Arabic with English subtitles, author, director and editor: Arash Asadi, DOP and producer: Antonia Kilian)

 

A car ride through deserted fields and empty streets, through a village without people. What happens to memories when there is no one left to remember? «A Letter from Raqqa» is a cinematic essay about the consequences of war, the standstill of time and the traces of life.

 

 

«The Other Side of the River» (2021, 92 min, author, director, DOP and co-producer: Antonia Kilian, co-author and editor: Arash Asadi

 

19-year-old Hala escaped an arranged marriage by crossing the Euphrates to find a new home with a Kurdish Women’s Defense Unit – a unit that later liberated her hometown of Minbij from the Islamic State. For her fellow women fighters, the enemy is not just IS, but patriarchy in general, with (forced) marriage as the ultimate institution of oppression. The young women are trained in combat and taught the feminist ideals of the Kurdish women’s movement. Deeply inspired by these teachings, Hala is resolutely committed to the promise of liberating not only more women, but also her sisters, at any cost. But is there still room for freedom and even love in her life when her mission consumes everything?

 

«The Other Side of the River» depicts Hala’s determined, revolutionary path while illuminating another, parallel life experience: the director’s own reflections on being a feminist and cultural outsider in a situation where the term “militant feminism” can well be understood literally.

 

 

«Chromatic Wednesdays» is a bi-weekly event series bringing together creative thinkers across diverse backgrounds. As part of this interdisciplinary program, the films will be screened at 19.00 (doors open at 18.30) at Apartment Project (Hertzbergstraße 13, 12055 Berlin) and can also be followed online on Youtube (https://youtube.com/live/eh4bDuf9l2Q).

 

The space of Apartment Project is accessible by wheelchair.