Rebirthing the future of cross community solidarity through ancestral remembrance and radical imagination (talk + film programs)

Film Festival: Where the Wind Scatters Seeds;
7.−9. February 2025
Filmhaus Köln

Where The Wind Scatters Seeds, memories bloom from barren ground of tears in the soil, whispers of forgotten friends, shadows of distant homes, erased faces on torn photographs. Echoes of yesterday, dreams of tomorrow. 

Over the course of three days, a carefully curated film program, born from interdisciplinary collaboration - takes shape. 
Weaving together the intersection of memory, dislocation, and radical solidarity, the program uses film to confront, as well as imagine beyond colonial violence and the ways it warps our sense of self, community, time and space. Complimenting the film program with alternative media forms such as food, music, an interactive drawing corner & a healing conversation circle, the cinema is transformed into a space for nurturing ancestral forms of belonging. It reflects on the essence of home—its presence, what it carries, and the void left in its absence. The showcased works examine the act of remembering, transforming archives into dynamic spaces for resistance, reclamation, and processes of un-learning.

Curated by:

Schaho Balbas

Vincent E.

Ido Hassan

Julia Jesionek

Lan Mi Lê

Polina Resnianska

Sarah Savalanpour

Shadi Tabibzadeh

Safiya Yon

DAY 3: Radical Kinship: Reimagining Communities Through Solidarity
The films in this program invite us to traverse the labyrinths of colonial violence, resistance, and radical imagination. They explore how communities, beyond oppression and alienation, can forge connections with one another. By examining the shared experiences of groups affected by colonialism across different geographic contexts, the program fosters solidarity between communities suffering from colonial violence and its aftermath.
Starting from the Vietnamese diaspora, the films delve into forced migration and cultural survival, exploring how living archives are constructed through personal histories. These intimate insights challenge dominant narratives shaped by power structures, which are perpetuated by selective forgetting. These works examine the complex process of negotiating identity "in the belly of the beast". This confrontation with identity under colonial legacies is not only an act of survival, but also reclaiming of self in spaces shaped by systemic forces of control.
The second part of the program shifts focus to film as an archive of resilience, one that documents testimonies of colonial violence. These works disrupt established historical narratives and open new pathways to present collective suffering and resistance. The films urge questioning the systemic conditions that distort or erase the testimonies of marginalized subjects, encouraging new ways of listening and understanding. The screen becomes a space for deconstructing past and present traumas, enabling the creation of alternative methods and perspectives of documenting vulnerability.
The concluding section shifts towards radical imaginations from black and Kurdish resistance movements: What could a world beyond colonial legacies look like? These films imagine ways of living, creating, and being together outside the structures of imperial control. Through documentation of revolutionary practice, they break inherited hierarchies and propose alternative visions grounded in justice, reciprocity, and liberation.
In presenting these perspectives, the films invite the audience to view solidarity as a tool for healing and transformation.

Program #3: Rebirthing the future of cross community solidarity through ancestral remembrance and radical imagination (talk + films)

Conversation circle with Amdrita Jakupi & Dr. Cucuteni: "Cross community solidarity through ancestral remembrance & radical  imagination"

18:50 
HERE IS THE IMAGINATION OF THE BLACK RADICAL (D: Rhea Storr; 2020; 10'; English, English subtitles)
Afrofuturism is communicated via the Bahamian people through Junkanoo, a form of carnival in the Bahamas. Originally celebrated  by slaves who were given Christmas Day and Boxing Day off only, Junkanoo can be viewed as a form of resistance. 

19:20 
Song Con Song (D: Vi Tường Bùi; 2024; 3'; silent)
Sóng (Còn Sống) is a poetic reflection on Vietnamese and queer identity, where water symbolizes renewal and connection. Through textures, light, and the áo dài, the film bridges past and future, celebrating the intersection of being Vietnamese-American and queer. 

Zuhause ist dort wo die sternfrüchte sauer sind (D: Huy Nguyễn; 2023; 24'; Vietnamese, German, English subtitles)
In Home Is Where the Starfruit Is Sour, director Huy Nguyễn explores the emotional distance and closeness in his transcontinental relationship with his grandparents, breaking cultural silence to uncover the meaning of love and connection across generations.

Frequencies (D: Rebecca Racine Ramershoven; 2024; 6'; English, no subtitles)
The short film tells of frequencies of Black culture in the form of pop-cultural scenes, formative personalities, a sermon, singing and private archive material refer to aspects of Black culture, reflect memories and reveal a community far removed from the white gaze.

Curated by Schaho Balbas, Ido Hassan, Lan Mi Lê and Safiya Yon

IMPORTANT NOTES
If you don't have a ticket, come by and we will put you on the waiting list.
If you have a ticket, please come earlier (at least 15min). If you are late, we might give your place to the people on the waiting list.