Open Call II Projects Announced...
At the beginning of February this year we put a call out for curators and programmers from underrepresented groups to put forward proposals for events to take place as part of our 16th festival (17-22 May).
We had some brilliant applications from across the country, and we're really pleased to announce the two projects that were selected...
JUWAIRIYYAH WALI - A TIME TO REBEL
Juwairiyyah is a born and bred brummie, curator, facilitator and art appreciator with a film degree. Having been drawn to interacting with various different types of arts spaces over the years, whether that be an art gallery, or a cinema, she has developed an interest in challenging traditional modes of spectatorship coupled with a desire to situate film within its wider cultural context and connect film to people. After all, what is film without its audience?
ABOUT THE EVENT
Juwairiyyah's event (titled 'A Time to Rebel') explores aspects of South Asian identity, through the screening of two short films, both directed by British South Asian women: Gurinder Chadha’s debut documentary film I’m British But… (1990), and Farihah Chowdhury’s BANGLATOWN! (2021).
Creating a space to reflect upon the differences and similarities between the experiences of young South Asians from the 1980s and 1990s, and those living in the UK today, a generation later, the screenings will be followed by a community discussion touching on areas such as identity, what activism looks like for South Asians today, the celebration of South Asian female filmmakers and the cyclical trends of experiences across generations.
After the screening and discussion, there will be a DJ set, reflective of the South Asian DJ events known as ‘daytimers’, which fuse together Western and South Asian music and have recently made a comeback in the South Asian underground music scene. This will represent the cyclical nature of trends and young South Asian’s today reclaiming culture as a form of activism.
Book tickets for A Time to Rebel
MICKEY LA ROSA - AIDS ON FILM
Since graduating with a Master’s Degree in Film Programming and Curating from Birkbeck, University of London, Mickey has worked in film curation for – among others – the BFI, the Korean Cultural Centre UK, the Raindance Film Festival, the South Social Film Festival and ‘Queer’ Asia in London, and the Newport Beach Film Festival (California). For Raindance he is a Programmer for Feature Films, viewing and writing about films, and hosting Q&As. For the London BALTIC Film Festival at the Cinema Museum, Mickey hosted Q&As and helped shine a light on the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. He regularly writes on his blog and on Instagram.
ABOUT THE EVENT
Mickey's event spans two screenings exploring AIDS on film with two lauded documentaries and a short film:
Memories of a Penitent Heart (Cecilia Aldarondo, 2016. 72 mins)
Silverlake Life: The View From Here (Tom Joslin and Peter Friedman, 1993. 99 mins)
Fighting in Southwest Louisiana (Peter Friedman/Jean-François Brunet, 1991. 27 mins)
"Film heritage should be inclusive and represent all kinds of marginalised histories. Such is the history of AIDS, which had been swept under the carpet in the 1980s by politicians giving it shameful connotations of stigma, fear and isolation. Drawing parallels between AIDS and the COVID-19 pandemic, my aim is to use two archive films to grow and expand an audience for essay films."
After both of the screenings, Mickey will host Q&As delving into some of the themes that arise in the films. The discussions will feature a representative from the Terrence Higgins Trust and LGBTQ+ rights activist Peter Tatchell (amongst others).
Book tickets for AIDS on Film - Silverlake Life: The View from Here
Book tickets for AIDS on Film - Memories of a Penitent Heart
You can find out more about Flatpack's second open call for curators and programmers from underrepresented groups on the blog.