The Sparrow is Free

Niki Kohandel, 2021, 14’ — Hi8 film

In an empty house, a young woman hears a voice. The tales it evokes lead her to recreate scenes from her grandmother’s past life. Through a window into the life of the filmmaker’s grandmother, Kohandel’s short interview-film explores gender roles in early 20th-century Iran.

Minevissam (I am writing)

Niki Kohandel, 2023, 18’ — 16mm & super 8 to digital

‘Minevissam’ maps the journeys of various characters, whose pasts continue to echo through other times and places. As they search for better words and worlds, a poet, a painter and an owl attempt to translate their tales for and with each other.

Just Another Year

Niki Kohandel, 2020, 6’10 — Hi8 film

The film begins with the daily tasks that many women perform in Central Asia. The imaginary harmony of monotonous work gives way to reality — the hell that a woman experiences while silently suffering from systematic domestic violence. The cycle of chaos is interrupted by a single sigh of hope, made by a body that should be mute.

…- then love is the name

Niki Kohandel, 2022, 7’ — 16mm & Hi8 film, silent

A reflection on education and an ode to the bonds that are formed by students at, (and in spite of,) the institution they are studying within. By weaving together footage from the 2021 anti-racist occupation of the Slade School of Fine Art with scenes from the install of the art school’s class of 2020 degree show, the academy emerges as a site of frustration as much as of achievement.

Albalo

Niki Kohandel, 2021, 2’20 — hand-painted & etched 16mm film

What happened when a doll swallowed a cherry pit…

Her Right

Saodat Ismailova, 2020, 15′

‘Her Right’, whose title is inspired by the eponymous silent drama produced by Uzbekkino (1931, dir. G. Cherniak), is a film recalling the political campaign titled Hujum (attack) undertaken by the Communist Party to emancipate and unveil women in Uzbekistan.

Hazm Kardan Dushvor Ast

Nazira Karimi, 2021, 5′

‘Hazm kardan dushvor ast’ (‘Hard to digest’) is a short film that weaves together the video archives of women in Nazira Karimi’s family with the archival footage authored by European women from the collection of Vienna’s Filmmuseum.

Alaqan

Aïda Adilbek, 2022, 28′

Realized within the framework of DAVRA research group’s public programme at documenta fifteen in 2022, Alaqan follows Aïda Adilbek’s mother and grandmother in their daily house chores. The film explores female domestic labor as a form of sacred, healing ritual that is performed on a daily basis by women of the household.

Ever Since
I Knew Myself

Maka Gogaladze, Georgia, 2024, 85′

Within the changing landscape of post-Soviet society, the author embarks on a deeply personal journey. In intimate dialogue with her structure-loving mother and math teacher, she explores the relationship between two women of different generations, each with entirely different experiences, clashing perspectives, yet sharing a profound love for each other.
This conversation is interwoven with various stories of children from non-formal schooling spaces as the author travels across Georgia. She observes children in music, dance, art, drama, and sports classes in spaces that encapsulate the ambiance of her own childhood.

A Magical Substance 
Flows into Me

Jumana Manna, Palestine, Germany, UK, 2016, 66′

The film opens with a crackly voice recording 
of Dr. Robert Lachmann, an enigmatic Jewish-German ethnomusicologist who emigrated to 1930s Palestine.

Over the course of the film Jumana Manna follows in Lachmann’s footsteps and visits Kurdish, Moroccan and Yemenite Jews, Samaritans, members of urban and rural Palestinian communities, Bedouins and Coptic Christians, as they exist today within the geographic space of historical Palestine.

In a metaphorical excavation of an endlessly contested history, the film’s preoccupations include: the complexities embedded in language, as well as desire and the aural set against the notion of impossibility.
The screening will be followed by 
a discussion with maqaal collective.

A Night of Knowing Nothing

Payal Kapadia, India, France, 2021, 97′

​​A ‘Night of Knowing Nothing’ is a documentary film, directed by Payal Kapadia and released in 2021. An exploration of university student life in India, the film centers on letters written by L., a student at the Film and Television Institute of India, to her estranged boyfriend after they are separated when he is forced to quit film school and denied permission from his family to continue dating L. because she is not of the same caste.

Payal Kapadia won the Golden Eye award for best documentary film at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival for ‘Night of Knowing Nothing’. In 2024, she won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival for her film ‘All We Imagine as Light’.

Forgetting Vietnam

Trinh T. Minh-ha, Vietnam, USA, 2015, 90′

Minh-ha’s classic “Surname Viet Given Name Nam” (1989) used no original footage shot 
in the country; in “Forgetting Vietnam” images of contemporary life unfold as a dialogue between land and water—the elements that form the term “country.” Fragments of text and song evoke the echoes and traces 
of a trauma of international proportions.

The encounter between the ancient as related to the solid earth, and the new as related to the liquid changes in a time of rapid globalization, creates a third space 
of historical and cultural re-memory—what local inhabitants, immigrants and veterans remember of yesterday’s stories to comment on today’s events.

My mother’s wound

Gulzat Matisakova, 2021, Kyrgyzstan, 10′

“My mother’s wound” is an autobiographical short documentary about filmmaker’s mother. In this multi-media mixed film, the author tells the story of her mother who was born and grew up in Soviet Kyrgyzstan, struggled through new capitalist regime, the unknown future in 90s, and patriarchy, developing a depression and passing the trauma to her daughter.

DYAD

Aidan Serik, 2023, Kazakhstan, 22′

“DYAD” is a poignant exploration of the transformative power of love, transcending societal norms and expectations. Anna’s journey serves as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the profound connections that bind us all. The title, derived from the Greek word meaning “pair,” encapsulates the essence of the film as it delves into the dualities of love, both challenging and redemptive.

Се Хоҳаракон

Fariza Giyosidinova, 2024, Tajikistan, 1′

This video sketch is a tribute to the traditions and rich Tajik culture. It was inspired by the Zoroastrian ritual of “alovgardon” (lit. jumping over the fire), which took place during the spring festival of Navruz, the day of the vernal equinox. During this ritual, people (mostly men) jumped over the fire, calling on the fire to take away their illnesses and give them health and happiness in the new year.

Izdeu

Nazira Karimi, 2022, Kazakhstan-Tajikistan, 12′

“Izdeu” is a documentary film, exploring the history and memory of my family through the stories of the artist’s seven foremothers. The film is exploring themes of trauma, resilience, and the complex interplay between personal and collective history. A love letter to the power of community and the importance of collective agency. Izdeu continued as project Hafta at the 60th International Art Exhibition ‘Foreigners Everywhere’.

Jonjuvoz

Masuma Makhamadalieva, 2024, Kyrgyzstan, 10′

The film “Jonjuvoz” is like a poem in three parts. It first celebrates Uzbekistan’s culture and heritage. Then, it reveals the hidden struggles of the country and the author’s personal pain. Finally, it shows the author’s journey to find acceptance within Uzbek culture despite its flaws. The film uses old Uzbek films and photos from the internet, with careful editing and sound design, to tell a powerful story of resilience and self-acceptance.

64 reasons why everything went wrong

Dilnaz Abraimova, 2023, Kazakhstan, 17′

The story is about a 20-year-old girl, her mother and a secret that destroyed their illusory world in an instant. A story that was revealed to us after a period of deep, desperate silence and addressed to each family individually. The film acts as a kind of guide — you do not need to be silent if you have been hurt.

I have nothing to lose

Bakhyt Bubikanova, 2018, Kazakhstan, 3′

Bakhyt Bubikanova was born in 1985 in Aktobe. Lived and worked in Astana. Today she is one of the brightest figures among representatives of the younger generation of Kazakh artists. Bakhyt Bubikanova worked in various techniques – painting, collage, installation, performance, photography and video art. The program features video art by Bakhyt “I have nothing to lose”, the entire program is named after it

In her room

Rusudan Khubutiya, 2023, Uzbekistan, 23′

Salima is girl who stands at the crossroads of her future. As an 11th grade in her final year of school before university, the weight of parent’s expectations presses down on her and in her choice. Her parents, both esteemed in their professional careers, envision a path for her as like they did. It’s a path well-trodden, marked by few generations before her, and it promises stability and respect.

She feels so much pressure from parents, friends and social environment about what to choose for her future. All her doubts and thoughts are lead her to room where she feels safe and where she can forget problems for a while

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Side Chicks

Intizor Otaniyozova, 2024, Central Asia, 3′

Meet Intizor, who lives in post-colonial Central Asia and speaks only Russian and English learned from Dostoyevsky and Beyoncé. On the road trip to her indigenous Uyghur-Khorezmi roots Intizor is planning to finally find peace by killing the national concept of which she is fucking tired of.