IFFR x DutchCulture x Fenix: Rewinding Tapes of Migration

On Wednesday 19 November, Dutch Culture, IFFR and Fenix will screen three short films connecting personal stories to broader narratives of migration and community. Each film offers its own perspective on movement, identity and belonging across borders. After the screening of Bus from Adana, join filmmaker Jochem de Vries for a short Q&A about his film and his reflections on Dutch–Turkish collaboration.

How can stories of movement, identity and community inspire creative practices and international partnerships? Rewinding Tapes of Migration brings together makers who explore migration as a theme in their artistic practice.

Film programme

YUGOTRANSPORT – Wir sitzen alle im selben Bus (Boris Hadžija, 2023) | 18.30 – 18.55
Thirty years after Yugoslavia vanished in bloodshed, workers from all the successor states unite again. But this time not over communist utopian ideals, but under capitalist reality – in the bus that is taking them to seasonal work in the promised land of Germany. But what happens when that bus falls by the wayside? Maybe a little song will help, in this contemporary gastarbeiter comedy with a strong feminist undercurrent by Boris Hadžija.

Being Strong Is Hard (Leyla Yenirce, 2022) |18.55 – 19.00
Being Strong Is Hard comprises a barrage of images of Kurdish activists, journalists and fighters – mostly women – facing the camera, often smiling. Scored to rapid electronic music, this visual onslaught echoes the sensory overload of contemporary media. While the similarity of portraits, whose low resolution raises its own political questions, encourages instant parsing, the sight of young women in uniform slows down our perception, inviting us to interrogate the meaning of these smiles and poses.

Bus from Adana (Jochem de Vries, 2023) | 19.00 – 19.20
Bus from Adana tells the story of the Dutch Aïsha who has returned from Syria. With her three-year-old daughter she makes an uncertain journey towards Istanbul, where she has difficulties finding her way. In Istanbul she will meet her Dutch father. Their reunion is something she is looking forward to but things turn out differently.

Q&A with Jochem de Vries | 19.20 – 19.30
Join filmmaker Jochem de Vries for a short Q&A about his film Bus from Adana and his reflections on Dutch–Turkish collaboration.

The main language of this event is English.