Prepare yourselves for the fourth Berlin Feminist Film Week kicking off today! Tonight’s opening screening will be the German premiere of Maysaloun Hamoud’s debut feature film In Between, a story of three Palestinian women living in Tel Aviv, preceded by the screening of two episodes of Mixed Messages, a web-series capturing the queer Berlin dating scene. Tonight will also feature a Q&A with the creators of Mixed Messages, Kanchi Wichmann and Nadja Krüger.
Though the opening night of BFFW will take place at Babylon Kino, the rest of the week will be based out of AGORA Rollberg. In collaboration with the week of films, discussions, and workshops, Curated by Girls will be exhibiting A Story The World Needs to See, a group show featuring 27 different artists. Run by the dynamic duo Laetitia Duveau and Suzanne Wegh, Curated by Girls seeks to crush the hegemonic art world by building a platform featuring dynamic and representative feminist art.
© Daantje Bons
As we ride through the waves of the increasingly visible fascist right, hopefully this week’s programming can be a small and temporary life raft where we can celebrate and be critical of work that fails to be seen in larger venues and is made by marginalized filmmakers in a white and male-dominated industry (for the rare exception of Moonlight’s victorious reversal!). Race, representation, sexuality, menstruation, magic, climate change, parenthood (or opting out), and international activism, among other topics, will be tackled by filmmakers and facilitators this week.
BFFW’s ambition is to show a varied and diverse program with films from multiple genres from different parts of the world and explore feminism via cinematic experiences. The aim of this festival is to be accessible and inclusive for everyone. Feminism takes many shapes and forms, even a not explicitly feminist film plot can be changing the gender norms. But feminism can also be very subjective; what might be empowering for some might not be so for others. Therefore the organizers try to incorporate discussions and dialogues around the presented films and welcome an interactive dialogue with the guests.
Contact BFFW if the prices of screenings (workshops and talks are free) bar you from participation- they have announced their priority to keeping events affordable and accessible for all bodies, especially for holders of the Berliner Pass, single parents, and refugees.
Words by Harley Aussoleil
Feature Image: Courtesy of the Berlin Feminist Film Week (Still of In Between)
