Along themes of radical stands and critical practice in the arts, DEAL WITH IT explored topics such as racism in the refugee crisis, toxic masculinity, and anti-capitalist gestures. The festival features screenings, artist talks, performances, and an exhibition – “THE CAKE IS A LIE” – which will remain on view until 12th January 2025.
Here are a few highlights from the program which took place between 30th October and 3rd November 2024.
Screening & Artist Talk – Julika Rudelius
German-born filmmaker Julika Rudelius presented three short films: It Is True Because I Feel It (2021), Rites of Passage (2008), and Your Blood Is as Red as Mine (2004).
Although each short addresses a different topic, they are united by a common intention – to confront and question. It Is True Because I Feel It (2021) invites viewers into the intimate world of tantra practice, where pairs express their suppressed emotions and desires to each other through breathwork, touch, and vocalisation. In contrast to the intense, direct, and occasionally intrusive methodology of the first short, Rites of Passage (2008) unfolds in an atmosphere of restrained, palpable tension, exploring dynamics of domination and obedience between influential political figures and their interns. This theme of power hierarchy continues in Your Blood Is as Red as Mine (2004), which examines racial dynamics, prejudices, and the grey area between White and Black.
In the Q&A following the screening, the artist remarked, “safe films don’t move anything… I want my art to seduce people into awkwardness and the uncomfortable.” The points of confrontation in each short are defined by the time during which it was filmed and the viewer’s own position of power – race, gender, class – offering the potential for deeply personal reflection if one allows oneself to sink into the experience.
For an in-depth review of Julika Rudelius’s programme, you may follow the link at the end of this article, which leads to “Filmmaker Julika Rudelius’ Seduction Into Discomfort” published on Substack.
Screening – Birgit Hein: Die unheimlichen Frauen, Germany, 1992, 63:00 minutes
As the title suggests, the one-hour screening depicts the wildness of women through historical, religious, and artistic imagery. The Uncanny Women may not be easy to stomach, as it departs from the conventional characterisation of femininity and womanhood as defined by asexuality, elegance, and submissiveness.
By drawing parallels between the figure of Kali, the women of the Nuremberg trials, and herself, Birgit Hein illustrates women’s brutal, courageous, and lustful sides. This work is assembled as a collage of self-produced scenes and documentary footage, overlaid with quotes and the filmmaker’s own texts.
Examining the suppression of women across continents, from circumcision practices to eating disorders, Hein argues that “the liberation of women must be achieved through the liberation of sexuality.” On-screen, she does not shy away from portraying herself as a strong, intoxicated, masturbating woman. The shocking imagery and fragmented sounds reveal a dimension of female identity that remains stifled more than two decades after the film’s release.
Performance & Artist Talk – I’m leaving / انا مغادر by Mounir Samuel
The performance takes the form of a lecture-style presentation, concluding with an audience survey. The provocative monologue by activist-performer Mounir Samuel is charged with fury, accompanied by explanatory images and videos.
Interweaving his own identity as a transgender migrant in the Netherlands, the artist brings an intensely personal story to the foreground and confronts the audience, urging them to examine their positions of power in relation to the ways in which reactions to the refugee crisis in Europe are heavily influenced by racism.
Following a barrage of the violent realities faced by migrants and refugees of colour at European borders during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Samuel heightens the unease through an interactive component with the audience. Are we truly willing to house others? Are we all complicit? These are the core questions Mounir instigates within the audience.
“We don’t value lives the same”; although we are rarely willing to admit it, we are more prejudiced than we care to acknowledge. Extending the conversation to climate change and pointing out that Europe itself is at considerable risk of becoming a source of climate refugees, Mounir concludes that while we show greater compassion for certain groups, in the end, we are all the same and face the same hardships.
Screening & Artist Talk: Kitten or Refugee? (2023) by Tina Farifteh
Filmed for television, Iranian-Dutch artist Tina Farifteh’s work, Kitten or Refugee (2023), is an educational and thought-provoking reflection on the motivations behind empathy. Beginning with images at Europe’s borders that show the violence inflicted by European border police, the film highlights the suffering and inequality that surrounds us.
Various stakeholders – a biologist, philosopher, animal shelter volunteer, and others – are interviewed for their opinions and asked to choose whom they would save in a crisis. The hierarchies underlying our everyday decisions are exposed, revealing that empathy tends to favour those we consider connected to us in a society where we are interdependent.
But who do we consider as connected? Who is the “us”? By delving into the exclusion of African refugees from trains to flee in Ukraine and at Polish borders, the filmmaker poignantly asserts that “racism never lets up even in times of distress and war.” On one hand, we may pay attention in the moment of viewing these images; on the other, our minds may already be numbed by the barrage of what is sometimes termed “empathy porn.”
Ultimately, the artist’s exertion of constructive rage through the film circles back to the question of whether we are truly willing to see each other – not as “other,” but as “us.” In the follow-up artist talk, Tina reminds the audience that hope lies in remaining curious and creating dialogue without assuming another’s capacity for openness. We are all capable of violence, rage, and empathy. There may be a great deal of despair, but we must try. Rosina Lui 10th November 2024
Additional read: Filmmaker Julika Rudelius’ Seduction Into Discomfort on Substack
