#5 DokfestCampus: Radical Democracy Wanted!


(BALi, KulturBahnhof Kassel)

CN: Thematization of torture and extreme violence
Resistance requires the ability to clearly articulate dissent, resolve conflicts, negotiate alternatives, and share experiences of utopias practiced around the world. In this context, ideas of justice and social critique are expressed not only in words but also in other forms of protest. The Kassel Dokfest, in cooperation with the Department of Political Theory at the University of Kassel, invites you to reflect on this in the context of the lecture “What is Political Science?”. The screening will show five selected films that deal with forms of resistance used by communities and social groups in different parts of the world and illustrate the impact of collective political action and institutional politics on our lives. (Carolina A. Vestana, Anne-Sophie Fritsch)

Utopia Muda (Mute Utopia)

A first-person narrative manifests the struggle to democratize the media in Brazil through the history of Radio Muda, the longest-running free radio station that challenged the system to defend freedom of expression. The film is based on archive material from the director himself who was an activist for Radio Muda at the beginning of the 21st century.

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  • Duration: 20 Min.
  • Director: Julio Matos

Gaze in Battle

Together with others divided under the same blue sky, Ayla Pierrot Arendt´s gaze is creating an urgent record of life on the brink of terror and war. GAZE IN BATTLE follows the director´s transition from mere observation to a searing experience in Israel / Palestine in the summer of 2023. As protests unfold in Tel Aviv and violence intensifies in the West Bank, Arendt grapples with threats and contradictions.

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  • Duration: 20 Min.
  • Premiere: Europe Premiere
  • Nominated: Goldener Key
    • Director: Ayla Pierrot Arendt

    let yourself l̴͓̥̠̼̏̑̃̂̂͘ḛ̷̺̟͓͈̜̓̋̍̄̆ä̸̞̝̳́̾̓̈̾k̷͎̰̓̒͘ a little

    As users and citizens, we are constantly encouraged by tech giants and governments to disclose data. Leaky signals, leaky compression algorithms, leaky network packets, leaky categories, leaky tiny faces, and leaky tiny activity records leak to ask who makes sure that leaks are not okay, who captures leaks, how leaks become weapons, and who kills leaks to prevent solidarity. In the video essay, promiscuous machines and lustful instances of government are highlighted as systemic vulnerabilities.

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    • Duration: 8 Min.
    • Director: jiawen uffline

    Ripple Effect (Yes)

    The video of a young man who was executed in Iran in 2020 went viral a few days after his death. He ran in slow motion and dived in a pool. Like an act of preservation, Niyaz Sghari films the video with a Super 8 camera. The camera becomes a tool for magnifying and grieving. Three years later, men and women still chant his name in protests. Like the waves after a dive, injustice has a ripple effect.

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    • Duration: 9 Min.
  • Premiere: German Premiere
    • Director: Niyaz Saghari

    Silent Night

    In the spring of 2022, a group of international tourists travel to Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank to see religious sites. But something is strange – the city is on strike. And the tour guide duo, one Israeli, the other Palestinian, won´t tell us what's going on – for different reasons.

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    • Duration: 14 Min.
    • Director: Philipp Schaeffer, Jonathan Schaller