Colonial Ecologies

Die Vorführung wird begleitet von Essen, einem gemeinsamen Workshop zum Weben von Wandteppichen und Live-Musik, für mehr Info siehe unten.

UNDR
Kamal Aljafari, Palestine/Germany 2024, 15 min. no dialogue

And still, it remains
Arwa Abuawa & Turab Shah, Algeria/UK 2023, 27 minutes min. Arabic with English subtitles

KHALED AND NEMA
Sohail Dahdal, Palestine 2024, 18 min. Arabic with English subtitles

“I chose these films because they approach what is often regarded as quiet but is in fact deeply heavy colonial violence enacted upon landscapes, bodies, and memory, until they themselves become an archive. UNDR uses aerial footage of terrain and archaeological sites to reveal how occupation shapes the land. And Still, It Remains shows how colonial toxicity continues to affect both bodies and ecologies in the Algerian village of Mertoutek. Khaled and Nema tell a story of memory, care, and community resilience as a young Palestinian Bedouin boy and his goat work to save their village, which features Mohammad Bakri, whose passing we honor in this screening. Finally, we will end with a special film to be announced in the Sinema, where we enter the corridors of the homes of Palestinian mothers who narrate the constant questioning they experience in the absence of their children.

With these films, we trace histories of violent colonial ecologies through the landscapes of Palestine and Algeria." (Lamar Hamadalla)

The screenings are accompanied by:

• Collective Tapestry Making workshop with Amina and Hala (starts at 16:00 and ends at 18:30):

Our communities have always used so-called “informal” crafts and practices to document and preserve their history. From cross stitches on women’s thobes that quietly carry and visually express  memory, history, environment, colonial occupation and socio-economic status to the fabrics dyed to endure sun, wind, and time.  These practices and fabrics, for centuries, tell the stories that have long been silenced about love, land, loss and grief and the intersections of them all. 

This workshop invites participants to practice collective stitching and printing on fabric. Together, we learn the technical foundations of Tatreez while reflecting on the deeper political and emotional meanings stitched into its patterns. We will also reflect on histories of diaspora and make a joint piece that weaves our collective and personal stories.  Just come by, no registration or material needed!

• Food sale with Fox & Aya (starts at 18:00): 

To compliment the evening, Aya & Fox will prepare some delicious Mjadarra and Om Ali.

• Live music performance after screening: 

Kareem Barakat, a musician and multi-instrumentalist (Ramallah/ Berlin) and Dai, a vocal performer (Cairo/Berlin), will perform live Arabic music from the 1970s to the early 2000s. 

Lamar Hamadalla is based in Berlin and works at SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA as a film projectionist and member of the bar team.