I’m gonna curate a screening for 37 Filmfest Dresden! See you there in April!
full press here: Foretaste of the 37 Filmfest Dresden: Special Programmes focusing on “Let’s Stick Together!”
“Since the start of the year, we’ve faced huge uncertainties because we’ve also being affected by the cutbacks announced on a municipal level. And on top of that, we’re not expecting to get any binding state or federal funding commitments before the summer – or in other words, long after this year’s festival round is over. This is due especially to the complex and protracted budget negotiations being caused by the state elections here in Saxony and the general election in Germany. Which makes us all the more thankful for the support of our sponsors and partners, who are working together with us on finding solutions to this situation. And when you consider the drastic cutbacks looming in the culture sector, the concept of solidarity is now taking on a whole new sense of urgency,” Festival Director Anne Gaschütz explains.
Thematic Focus “Let’s Stick Together!”
A first taste of the 37th festival edition is being provided by the special programmes, which are devoted to the theme of solidarity and the creating of “Not Impossible” visions. The thematic focus represents the launch of our “Generational Change – A New Justice” Trilogy intended to continue until 2027, with it inviting us this year to ponder the present and future of solidarity – and that also beyond national borders. Doing so, solidarity is being sought out in our daily lives, while also being considered as a tool capable of realising utopias, linking this on a thematic level to last year’s festival focus on utopias. The programme is being compiled by a diverse team of guest curators.
One of these is the Chinese filmmaker Popo Fan, who is currently working on his feature film debut here in Germany. For this year’s festival, he is creating a focal programme on the subject of Language as the Key to New Solidarity in post-migrant Europe. Here, he is revealing how people, regardless of their ethnicities and identities, communicate with each other, as well as to what extent language can serve as a tool for connecting.