Our fifth Arab Film and Discussion Event was very well attended – on the 5th of March 2014 at 6:45pm all seats were taken by more than 60 people to watch the film “My Makhzen & Me” and to subsequently discuss the film and its topic of Moroccan revolution with our guest. The film "My Makhzen & Me" approaches the topic from the perspective of the protesting and unsatisfied youth around the 'February 20th' movement and its website 'Mamfakinch'. Film maker and activist Nadir Bouhmouch portrays the initiating protests taking place on the streets of Morocco against the governing elite on the basis of several youtube videos, own film footage and interviews. But the protest loses momentum due to the Kings well aimed tactics of minimal concessions and repression. In addition, the film criticises Morocco's poor socio-economic situation and deficient educational system. In the discussion following the film screening, Mohammed Masbah (SWP Berlin) answered many questions from the audience in a detailed and illustrative manner, using his personal experience as well as his perspective as a researcher. For example, he discussed the fact that the movement failed to reach out to many parts of Moroccan society. As a consequence, and also due to the Kings speech in March 2011 and in fear of civil war conditions like in Syria, most people decided to stay calm. The event was presented by Andreas Fricke (14km e.V.), German-English translation by Anja Gebel (14km e.V.). The restaurant Argana in Moabit (in the process of opening) sponsored plenty of Morrocan specialties. We would like to thank Mai Micklisch (intern at 14km e.V.) and the Filmrauschpalast team for their organizational help and support. We thank the audience for their participation! In regular intervals we screen films which deal with different Arab countries and subsequently discuss the films and current social and political situation in the respective countries with guests from Berlin Moabit as well as with country experts, always aiming to make links to North-South relationships. The next Arab Film and Discussion Event will take place on 2nd of April 2014 at Filmrauschpalast Berlin. The project receives financial support in the context of the quarter management Moabit Ost through funds from the Programme Social City (EU, Federal Government, and Federal State of Berlin).

„My Makhzen and Me“ (Documentary), 6:45 pm at Filmrauschpalast, Lehrter Straße 35, Berlin Moabit We cordially invite you to our film and discussion evening on Morocco, which will take place on March 5th at 6:45 pm in the context of our Arab Film and Discussion Series. We will be screening the documentary “My Makhzen and Me” by Nadir Bouhmouch (2012, 43mins, Arabic/English/French with English and Arabic subtitles). The film shows how the young film maker returns to his home country after studying abroad in California, and finds it in a state of turmoil in the summer of 2011. The uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt had spread to Morocco. Organised by a group of students called the February 20th movement via Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and a website called Mamfakinch, people were flooding the streets and demanding change. But the Makhzen (the ruling elite) refuses to loosen its grasp. This film investigates what led to the revolt and what obstacles the people encounter in their struggle for freedom, democracy, human rights and against corruption and poverty. The film screening will be followed by an open discussion on the state of protests and change in Morocco, as well as on their effects on Moroccan migrants in Moabit and Berlin. The evening will take place in English. Attendance is free, donations are welcome. The event will take place at Filmrauschpalast, in the Kulturfabrik Berlin Moabit, Lehrter Str. 35. You can see here where the Kulturfabrik is located.   In regular intervals we screen films which deal with different Arab countries and subsequently discuss the films and current social and political situation in the respective countries with guests from Berlin Moabit as well as with country experts, always aiming to make links to North-South relationships.  The project receives financial support in the context of the quarter management Moabit Ost through funds from the Programme Social City (EU, Federal Government, and Federal State of Berlin).    Flyer Morocco download and share!

Screening of ART/VIOLENCE with supporting program, on 27.11 at 19 o'clock (Corona Kinoplex, Kaufbeuren in Allgäu/Bavaria) The film ART/VIOLENCE documents the time after the murder of Juliano Mer-Khamis (2011), a peace activist and founder of the Freedom Theatre in the Palestinian refugee camp of Jenin. In a compound of interviews, scenes from the theater, flashbacks and animations, the film documents old as well as new theater projects, but also the difficulties and challenges that the young actors and actresses are facing in their work. The screening is embeded in a supporting program. This begins with a short introduction of Dr. Anja Gebel (14 kms), followed by a talk with Christian Artner-Schedler (Pax Christ) on the subject "work for peace in Palestina and Israel" as well as a public discussion.                                  The distribution and the Roadshow of ART/ VIOLENCE were made possible thanks to the political development film award 'CINEMA fairbindet', donated by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Distribution and Roadshow were realized by the Arsenal Institute of Cinematography and Videoart. The project 'CINEMA fairbindet' is implemented by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). Cooperation partner: DW academy   More informations about the movie :  An artist is shot. Juliano Mer-Khamis - peace activist, director and actor - died in 2011 in front of his theater, in the refugee camp of Jenin. The refugee camp of Jenin is near the city of the same name in the north, in the West Bank, which is occupied by Israel since 1967. With more than 12.000 inhabitants, it is one of the biggest Palestinian refugee camps. To date the murder is still not clarified. Mer-Khamis, the son of a Jewish mother and a Palestinian father, led the Freedom Theatre since 2006 and fought with the means of art against the hopelessness and the violence in the refugee camp. Besides, the theater represented for him a possibility to offer a stage to artists, despite their nationality or gender. The film "Art/Violence" documents the period in the Freedom Theatre after Juliano Mer-Khamis' murder: What they should do with his legacy? How can they handle the powerless feelings of sorrow and rage? How can they go on with the theater? In a compund of interviews, scenes from the theater, recordings of a hip-hop concert, flashbacks and animations, the film documents old as well as new theater projects, but also the difficulties and challenges that the young actors and actresses are facing in their work. The structure of the film "Art/Violence" is divided in three chapters which refer in each case to a project of the Freedom Theatre: Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carrol,1865) Alice, the heroine of the story, follows a speaking, white rabbit in a fantastic journey in a wonderland full of oppositions and absurdities, a journey in which all known order systems are gradually broke up. In the adaptation from the Freedom Theatre, Alice escapes from her reality of poverty and oppression. In the wonderland, she meets characters who bring her to think over her own identity and to question what is "correct" and what is "wrong", what "is "normal" and what is "abnormal ». "The last piece that Jul' directed before his murder was Alice in Wonderland. I was the 'red queen' who is the ruler in Wonderland and who controls everyone. She represents leaders, for example Barak or Abu Mazen." (Mariam Abu Khaled)  Waiting for Godot (Samuel Beckett, 1952) In While Waiting, the Freedom Theatre's new interpretation of Waiting for Godot, the spectator waits for the never appearing Godot with the protagonists Didi and Gogo. The reality shown in the film as well as the theater play are full of insecurity. The stay offers the firm belief that a sense lies in the fact of waiting for Godot. "Even if we are actresses in a theater which is no theater, in a homeland which is not a homeland, in a country which is not a country, it shows the fact that we have interpreted While Waiting as Palestinian women, that we have gained our rights. Those rights, which were taken from us, those rights we have abandoned." (Batoul Taleb) Waiting for Godot is one of the most-quoted examples of absurd theater. Beckett's obstinacy for a strict fidelity to actors and actresses gender in the roles distribution is well known, however the Freedom Theater team went against that will with a feminine cast for the male parts. The piece refers to questions about the meaning of life in the view of invariant and unexplicable processes. The new interpretation deals with powerlessness feelings and thematises gender problems.  Antigone (Sophocles, in or before 442 v. Chr.) The heroine of the piece, Antigone, goes against the will of her uncle, the king Kreo. She buries the body of her brother, who Kreo executed on grounds of high treason and then who's funeral was forbidden. For having done that, Kreo sentences Antigone to death. When Kreo finally changes his mind because of the warning of the Gods revenge, it is already too late, Antigone has killed herself. "Before the murder of Juliano, we had begun to work on Antigone in Jenin, a film from which we hoped that it would have been able to represent the complexity of the death for art, for women's rights and for the liberation from Israeli occupation" (UdiAloni) This third and last chapter in the film follows the 12-year-old daughter of Juliano Mer-Khamis, Milay Mer, who undertakes - a year after the death of her father - to fulfil one her unrealized dreams: the cinematic adaptation of Antigone. She meets in Jaffa the well-known actors Saleh Bakri and Amer Hlelel as well as Udi Aloni, Mariam Abu Khaled and Batoul Taleb to turn a crucial scene. Her free interpretation thematises the patriarchal structure of the society in the Palestinian zones, by means of the question, whether and how freely an actress on the stage may develop her own expression styles.     Festivals and Awards Panorama of the Berlinale 2013 – World Premiere / Winner of the CINEMA fairbindet Prize Cinema South Festival (Sderot, Israel) – Prize of Juliano The Jerusalem International Film Festival (Jerusalem, Israel) Documentarist Film Festival (Istanbul, Turkey) Montreal International Documentary Festival – RIDM (Montreal, Canada) MedFilm Festival Rome – Winner of the “Open Eyes Award 2013″  

Last Thursday 14km e.V. successfully conducted the fourth evening of our Arab Film and Discussion Series. We were happy to welcome around 70 participants for our film evening on Jordan, of which 30 came as part of a German-Jordanian student exchange (organised by Bürger Europas e.V. with the support of the German Foreign Office). In the cosy atmosphere of stove-heated Filmrauschpalast cinema inside the Kulturfabrik in Berlin Moabit we screened the film “Recycle” which tells the story of an ex jihadist who lives in one of the poorest areas of the Jordanian city Zarqa. He collects waste-paper in order to make a living for himself and his family – difficult circumstances in which religion is an important foothold for him. But the lack of social and economic prospects and permanent setbacks drive him to the brink of desperation. After the screening the film was lively discussed by the present Jordanians, especially with regards to the question whether the film characters and their lives are representative for the Jordanian society or not. The following panel talk and the audience discussion with the guest speakers Hanna Al-Taher and Dima Al-Kuttu focused on the one hand on Jordan as an immigration country and current target of numerous refugees from Syria, and on the other hand on social and political transformations in the country since 2005 and 2011. The event was presented by Anja Gebel (14km e.V.). We cordially thank all participants for the interest and vivid participation, and the Filmrauschpalast team for the excellent preparation and technical support!

„Recycle“ (Documentary), 7:30pm at Filmrauschpalast, Lehrter Straße 35, Berlin Moabit We cordially invite you to our film and discussion evening on Jordan, which will take place on 10 October at 7:30pm in the context of our Arab Film and Discussion Series. We will be screening the documentary “Recycle” by film maker Mahmoud al Massad (2007, 82mins, Arabic with English subtitles). The film tells the personal story of an ex jihadist who lives in one of the poorest areas of the Jordanian city Zarqa. He collects waste-paper in order to make a living for himself and his family.  In these difficult circumstances he resorts to religion. But the lack of social and economic prospects and permanent setbacks drive him to the brink of desperation. The borders between “good” and “bad” are getting blurred, not only for the main character but potentially also for certain on-lookers. The film will be followed by a discussion with political scientist Hanna al-Taher, a group of Jordanian exchange students and Jordanian Moabiters, focussing on the situation of Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Jordan as well as on the effects of the so-called “Arab spring” on the country. The evening will take place in English. Attendance is free, donations are welcome. The event will take place at Filmrauschpalast, in the Kulturfabrik Berlin Moabit, Lehrter Str. 35. You can see here where the Kulturfabrik is located.                    

On Wednesday 18th September 2013 our third Arab Film and Discussion Evening took place - this time it was about Syria. In the documentary "THE SUFFERING GRASSES : when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers " from Iara Lee, the conflict in Syria is represented (at the time of 2012). Different interviews, pictures, animated sequences and reports on the war events reflect the sorrow and the frustration of the Syrian civili society, who is often forced, in view of the hopelessness of the civil war situation, to participate in violent disputes or to run away and a live in refugee camps. The film also deals with the role in the conflict of other countries like Russia, China and the USA. After the film screening, Hanna Wettig from "Adopt a revolution" spoke about the Syrian civil war, the rising tension within different social and political groups in the Syrian society and answered numerous questions and comments from the public. Besides, she explained the work of "Adopt a revolution", about current projects, challenges and also critized the work of the association. Many questions and remarks from the public referred to the refugee's problem and to the (real and potential) role of Germany in this context. Also the current debate about a military intervention and the negotiations about the Syrian chemical weapons was evoked. The evening ended with considerations on a future solution of the conflict and support possibilities coming from the German society. The event, attented by approx. 30 participants, was presented by Anja Gebel (14 km), at the organization helped Johanna Kramer (trainee by 14 km) as well as the ZK/U team. We thank all guests for their coming and for the engaged participation in the discussion!  -- 14km Arab Film and Discussion Series In regular intervals we screen films which deal with different Arab countries and subsequently discuss the films and current social and political situation in the respective countries with guests from Berlin Moabit as well as with country experts, always trying to make a link to North-South relationships. 

„THE SUFFERING GRASSES“ (documentary and discussion on Syria) on September 18, 2013, at 7:30pm, ZK/U, Siemensstraße 27-49, Berlin Moabit ‚14km – the shortest distance between North Africa and Europe‘ e.V. and the ZK/U cordially invite you to the third event of our Arab Film and Discussion Series. On September 18, 2013, at 7:30pm we will be screening the film „THE SUFFERING GRASSES: when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers” (2012, 52mins, Language: Arabic/English with German subtitles) and look forward to a subsequent discussion on the situation in Syria. The documentary by Lara Lee depicts the current civil war in Syria, reflected in interviews, pictures, animated sequences and reports about the ongoing occurrences. The film focuses on the situation of the civil society which is often forced either to join the violence or to flee the country. The film also addresses the role of other countries such as Russia, China or the US in the conflict. Against the background of the film we invite you to take the opportunity and discuss the Syrian civil war, the tensions inside the Syrian society and the role of external actors with Syrians living in Moabit as well as with Hannah Wettig from “Adopt A Revolution”. Can external actors contribute to solving the conflict or not? How do people in Syria think about an eventual international intervention? How could the conflict be solved otherwise? (Presented by: Anja Gebel, 14km e.V.). Attendance is free, donations are welcome. 14km Arab Film and Discussion Series In regular intervals we screen films which deal with different Arab countries and subsequently discuss the films and current social and political situation in the respective countries with guests from Berlin Moabit as well as with country experts, always trying to make a link to North-South relationships. Our Arab Film and Discussion Series started on 22 August 2013 with an evening on Egypt. Our second event (on 4 September 2013) dealt with displacement and migration in/from Palestine.                      

Our second Arab Film and Discussion Event was again well attended – on the 4 of September at 7:30pm around 40 participants had arrived at ZK/U in order to watch the film “Turtle’s rage”and to subsequently discuss the film and the topic of Palestinian displacement and migration with our four guests. The film approaches the topic on a very personal level. Young German filmmaker Pary El-Qalqili attempts to get closer to her Palestinian father and understand his life history through many questions and a joint trip to Palestine, simultaneously shedding light on his broken dreams and following his difficult search for home and identity. In the following talk with Musa El-Qalqili (main character of the film), Abdallah Hajjir (Imam at Haus der Weisheit in Moabit), Osama Hajjir (student of international business from Moabit) and Bernhard Schäfer (Joint Initiative on International Humanitarian Law in the Middle East) the discussion centred around the role of displacement and migration in the lives of Palestinians and in particular in the individual and family histories of the present persons with Palestinian migration background, and the different ways of dealing with it. Against the background of the Middle East conflict the audience also brought up the question how Germany could use its political influence more effectively for improving the situation of Palestinian refugees. The event was presented by Anja Gebel (14km e.V.), we would like to thank Johanna Kramer (intern at 14km e.V.) and the ZKU team for their organisational help and support. We thank the audience for their participation!              

„Turtle’s rage“ (Biography / Documentary and Discussion) On 4 September 2013 at 7:30pm, ZK/U, Siemensstraße 27-49, Berlin Moabit 14km – the shortest distance between North Africa and Europe e.V. and the ZK/U cordially invite you to the second event of our Arab Film and Discussion Series. On 4 September 2013 at 7:30pm we will be showing “Schildkrötenwut” (or “Turtle’s rage”, 2012, 69mins, language: German/Arabic with German subtitles) and are looking forward to an interesting discussion about Palestine. The documentary by Pary El-Qalqili tells the story of her father, a Palestinian living in German. The author tries to understand why her father left his family in Berlin in order to build a new life in Palestine, but came back years later and since then is living in the basement of the house, withdrawn like a turtle in its shell. Through many questions and a joint trip to Palestine Pary El-Qalqili aims to find out more about her father, and at the same time uncovers his inner forlornness and sheds light on his difficult search for identity. Against the background of the film you have the opportunity to discuss the situation of Palestinian migrants and questions of identity with Moabiters with Palestinian background and Musa El-Qalqili, the director’s father and main character of the film. We would also like to talk about the (actual and potential) German role in this context: What does Germany do to mediate in the Middle East conflict and to improve the situation of Palestinians? What could the German society do in this regard? (The discussion will take place in German. Presenter: Anja Gebel, 14km e.V) Attendance is free, donations are welcome. -- In regular intervals we screen films which deal with different Arab countries and subsequently discuss the films and current social and political situation in the respective countries with guests from Berlin Moabit as well as with country experts, always trying to make a link to North-South relationships. Our first event of this kind dealt with the social dynamics that have led to the revolution in Egypt in 2011.            

  Our 14km Arabic Film and Discussion Series started successfully with yesterday's screening of "We Are Egypt", followed by a discussion about the film and the current situation in Egypt. We were happy to welcome around 70 guests who had come to watch the documentary by Lillie Paquette and discuss with Barbara Bishay from Mayadin Al-Tahrir and Mustafa Fahim, resident of Moabit, in the premises of the former railway depot Moabit. The film documents the 14 months preceding the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. The filmmaker concentrates on the April 6 youth movement but also interviews and presents the views of many other relevant social and political groups, thus tracing in a very informative way the events and dynamics which culminated in the revolution. In the subsequent discussion, Barbara Bishay, who had just come back from a visit to Egypt, gave an impressive account of current events, debates and the atmosphere among the Egyptian population, while Mustafa Fahim assessed the current situation with the distance and expertise of an Egyptian who has been living in Germany for 54 years. The event was presented by Anja Gebel (14km e.V.), Johanna Kramer (intern at 14km e.V.) and the ZK/U team provided their valuable organisational support. We would like to thank all guests for coming and the ZK/U for the awesome cooperation.