Looking at the programs of the Kassel Dokfest in the 1990s, red threads become visible that shaped the decade thematically and are still relevant in the present. For example, one becomes aware of how much the 1990s were a decade of wars, the aftermath of which can still be felt today. The hot wars that broke out on a global scale at the end of the "Cold War" also dramatically changed our relationship to the photographic image, which in turn posed an acute challenge to film and video makers and thus also to the Kassel Dokfest. The increasing mechanization and digitization of image production led to fundamental doubts about the veracity of what was shown and thus about the visibility of wars. The forensic utility of the documentary image came under scrutiny, as did its ability to generate empathy. The program brings to mind four works that reflect the spectrum of ethical and aesthetic questions that were at stake in the process and that, 30 years later and in the face of new wars, are of undiminished relevance (Tobias Hering, curator of the program).

Guest: Ala Younis (Artistic Director of the Academy of the Arts of the World, Cologne)
The conversation will be held in English.