Director Senka Domanović Serbia / Croatia 2018
87 Min., OV with English subs
Director Emek Bizim İstanbul Bizim initiative Turkey 2016
48 Min., OV with English subs
Followed by a talk with Kaspar Aebi and Senem Aytaç
Berliner Förderprogramm Künstlerische Forschung @ SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA
Film programme and discussions with a focus on Belarus
Curated by Marina Naprushkina and Agnieszka Kilian
Films with absent protagonists, after the GDR, after 1990
Curated by Anna Zett and Philipp Goll
Curated by Sebahattin Şen
Curated by Necati Sönmez
Fields of action in the environmental crisis
Curated by Sarnt Utamachote, Malve Lippmann, Rosalia Namsai Engchuan and Pia Chakraverti-Würthwein & Eirini Fountedaki
Curated by Özge Calafato
Curated by Eirini Fountedaki, Cornelia Lund & Holger Lund (fluctuating images), Philip Rizk and Shohreh Shakoory
Curated by Kaspar Aebi
Curated by Popo Fan
Curated by Sarnt Utamachote and Rosalia Namsai Engchuan
Curated by Popo Fan, Tobias Hering, Malve Lippmann, Branka Pavlovic, Can Sungu, Sarnt Utamachote and Florian Wüst
Director Aylin Kuryel and Fırat Yücel Turkey 2019
57 min, OV with English subs
Followed by a talk with Aylin Kuryel and Fırat Yücel
Director Furqan Faridi, Ashfaque EJ, Shaheen Ahmed and Vishu Sejwal India 2019
43, OV with English subs
Followed by a talk with Shivramkrishna Patil and Susanne Gupta
Contract Labor and Internationalism in the GDR
Curated by Tobias Hering and Sun-ju Choi
Romani Perspectives in Film
Curated by Hamze Bytyçi
Curated by Amal Ramsis
Curated by Malve Lippmann and Can Sungu
Queer Feminist Rebels
Curated by Pembe Hayat KuirFest / Pink Life QueerFest, Esma Akyel and Esra Özban
Director Afraa Batous Syria, Lebanon 2015
82 min., OV with English subs
Followed by a talk with Lisa Jöris and Afraa Batous
Chinese X Queer X Film
Curated by Popo Fan
The Figure of the Migrant
Curated by Ömer Alkın
Curated by Necati Sönmez
Shifting Narratives
Curated by Florian Wüst
Narratives and Memories of Transnational Families
Curated by Malve Lippmann and Can Sungu
By Esra Özban
Syrian Society and Politics before and after 2011
By Amer Katbeh
With the duration of the war in Syria, and an increasing complexity resulting from divergent aspirations and interests of internal and external actors, it has become difficult to distinguish among conflict parties and to recognize people’s interests. More significantly, in this time of complexity the people’s needs and voices vanish as they are faced with dominating mainstream discourses and one-sided coverage from the media.
The six-part film series Beyond the War features documentary movies from and on Syria followed by discussions with guests. Here, different issues related to Syrian society and politics before and after 2011 (start of uprising) will be highlighted, like the development of Syrian society, the political system and possibilities for participation, the role of religion and secularism, Kurdish issues and women rights.
Amer Katbeh studied Humanities and English Literature at the University of Damascus, Syria. Next to and after his undergraduate studies, he worked for the Syrian Red Crescent and subsequently for the UN Refugee Commission (UNHCR) in Damascus. Amer Katbeh has been doing his doctorate in Peace and Conflict Studies at Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg since July 2016. In addition to the conflict transformation and the political systems in Egypt and Syria, the relationship between state and religion as well as refugee research are among his priorities. In 2013 he co-founded the Friedenskreis Syrien e.V. (FKS) which stands for peaceful culture of conflict and constructive dialogue regarding the current conflict in Syria. Through workshops and discussion meetings, FKS creates spaces for individuals to discuss and exchange ideas and thoughts about different topics related to Syria and Syrians.
Perspectives on Mobility in African Film
By Enoka Ayemba
By Marie Rasper and Hanna Döring
Mobilities between tourism and migration
By Malve Lippmann and Can Sungu
By Florian Wüst
Parent's and Children's Fates in the Context of Labor Migration
By Malve Lippmann and Can Sungu
Social Criticism in German-Turkish Migration Film
By Can Sungu
By Branka Pavlovic
OV with English subs
Followed by a talk with Can Sungu
Director Carmen Losmann Germany 2011
90 min., OV with English subs
Director Ossama Mohammed Syria 1978
23 min., OV with English subs
Followed by a talk with Lama Ahmad
The film by Ossama Mohammed is a reflection on the foundation of the Syrian society in 1976. The film starts off hopefully enough, with different village children talking about their dream jobs. But it soon becomes clear that such innocent candour will be short-lived.
Lama Ahmad is a former Syrian diplomat. At bi'bak she talks about the establishment of the Syrian society and the effects of the Ba'ath regime on it.
Director Shirwan Qasim Syria 2015
54 min., OV with English subs
Followed by a talk with Shirwan Qasim
The city of Kobani became a ghost city after it was almost completely destroyed. However, some of its people decided to return to search for their memories despite the warning of specialists that the city is uninhabitable. As Kobani is also a tribal area with a special social structure, the film highlights women's participation in combat.
Shirwan Qasim, born and raised in the Syrian city of Kobani, earned his diploma as a theater director in Iraq in 2011. Having worked in many TV formats as a photographer and editor since 2004, Quasim also began in 2009 with the production of documentary films that focus on political content as well as history, art and music.
Director Laura Nix and Julia Meltzer Syria 2011
80 min., OV with English subs
Followed by a talk with Dr. Mohammad Magout
Shot right before the uprising in Syria erupted in 2011, The Light in Her Eyes offers an extraordinary portrait of the role of Islam in Syrian society, putting a special focus on the challenges and dreams of Muslim women who want to live a life in line with Islam.
Dr. Mohammad Magout is a researcher at Leipzig University focusing on the role of religion and secularism in Syria.
Director Nidal Hassan and Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen Syria 2012
65 min. + 18 min., OV with English subs
Followed by a talk with Nidal Hassan
Between Damascus, Sweida and Kobani (Ein Al Arab) in Syria, the film gathers stories of women who present their own testimonies about themselves, about love, life, death and sometimes about the revolution.
Director and screenwriter Nidal Hassan was born in 1973 in Tartous, Syria. His debut film Salty Skin was celebrated as a milestone of Syrian Independent Cinema. His documentary True Stories of Love, Life, Death and Sometimes Revolution was selected at the Marché du film at the Festival du Cannes 2013 / Doc Corner.
Director Mohammad Ali Atassi Syria 2011
36 min., OV with English subs
Followed by a talk with Tarek Aziza
In the Syrian uprising, information technology and social media became crucial communication tools. The film features a skype-conversation about questions related to the uprising between the 83 years-old Riyad Al-Turk, a Syrian leftist opposition leader based in Syria, and the filmmaker who is based in Lebanon.
Tarek Aziza, is a Syrian researcher and writer focusing on political participation and activism in Syria.
Director Ziad Kalthoum Syria 2014
75 min., OV with English subs
Followed by a talk with Ziad Kalthoum
The Immortal Sergeant documents a day in the life of filmmaker Ziad Kalthoum, who is recruted to the military as a sergeant with the beginning of the uprise in Syria. He is to lead the former Bassel Al-Assad cinema in Damascus as a military base. Every day after work, he returns to his old life and works as an assistant director. He accompanies the shooting with his handheld camera. The film crew and passers-by form a microcosm in which the different positions of the conflict meet. Many belong to the opposition, but some are also behind Al-Assad.
Ziad Kalthoum was born in Homs in 1981 and graduated after studies in film. Kalthoum’s first feature-length documentary The Immortal Sergeant (2013), deals with the schizophrenic daily life and encounters he experiences between his mandatory military service in the Syrian Army and his role as assistant director during the shooting of Ladder to Damascus.
