
At the end of 2024, the cuts to Berlin’s cultural budget hit the independent arts sector unexpectedly hard.. The funding for SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA was not just reduced but entirely eliminated. Yet, thanks to the support of our community, friends, and allies, part of it was saved. Since then, we have carried a mix of frustration, joy, anger, courage, and uncertainty into the new year. A deep cut—one that will take time to heal.
While our program continues as planned, the future remains uncertain and bleak. But as Martin Luther King Jr. once said: "Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars." Around SİNEMA, many stars shine—voices that need to be heard even more now. People who think, write, and radiate light in the midst of darkness. People who help us all endure the gloom with their thoughts, poems, writings, films, and songs—reminding us that WE are not alone. Now more than ever, WE need EACH OTHER.
With the film and discussion series DEEP CUTS, a project by SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA and HKW, we take these budget cuts as an opportunity to come closer together and collectively reflect on new ideas for the future. We invite guests to pause for a moment and share a personal deep cut—a turning point that has shaped their perspective. Each guest selects a film that holds special significance for their work and presents it to the audience. In the discussions that follow, we explore how these films connect to their practice and what questions and perspectives are more urgent than ever in imagining a future built on solidarity, hope, and collective action.
DEEP CUTS is a program in the framework of HKW on the Road, in collaboration with SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA