Residing in the Borderlands

Our monthly film series RESIDING IN THE BORDERLANDS will end in July! For the last time we will watch a film together and converse about belonging and Berlin diasporas. We are delighted to have Esra Karakaya and Nilgün Akıncı joining us for this special event. 

They had the following to say about their choice: 
“In the American series Ramy, which debuted last year, Ramy Youssef shows what life as a Muslim in the Western world means for him. Nilgün and Esra will look more closely at how Youssef represents Muslim women in the series. In the conversation after the screening they will use the series as a point of departure to talk about how they, as Muslim women, navigate Berlin between the dominant narratives of whiteness and expectations within the muslim community.

Esra Karakayais a video journalist and the founder of her own Youtube talk show BlackRockTalk/KARAKAYA TALK. The Grimme and Grimme-Online nominated show deals with a broad range of themes from pop to politics, and is a platform for those in our society who are otherwise underrepresented and unheard. With a lot of humor and bravery with uncomfortable topics, KARAKAYA TALK has set a new standard for a respectful and empathetic culture of debate and discussion. Furthermore, Esra works as a video producer for Datteltätern, a Youtube channel for the empowerment of young Muslims. Esra Karakaya has been repeatedly recognized for her work, including within the “30 under 30” list for Zeit Campus Verlag (2019) and for Hertie-Stiftung within the framework of their #generationgrenzenlos [borderless generation] campaign (2019), and as a recipient of the 25 Frauen-Award from Edition F (2019).

Nilgün Akıncıis a director and filmmaker. She writes screenplays in the genre of spiritual science fiction and is writing a series about a family of color living in the Schwarzwald, which will be in the style of magical realism. She is a director of the Grimme-Online-Prize nominated Youtube talk show BlackRockTalk/KARAKAYA Talk from Esra Karakaya. Her academic background in Islamic and postcolonial studies informs her work as a director and filmmaker.