24 September 2016, PK Ost
MEMORARE PACEM Association for Culture of Peace Dresden invited to a Peace Slam and the premiere of the documentary DRESDEN REFUGE. This event is the closing event of the event series Frieden | Kultur | Stadt taking place in Dresden 19 – 24 September 2016.
This was not just a movie premiere but also a #peaceslam premiere – not that we haven’t been totally excited about everything. The program cinema PK Ost let us slam in their coffee area, the Projektschmiede Dresden supported us with sound and light and the audience with enthusiasm and applause.
Like in a poetry slam in our peace slam „poets“ read or recite original work in a certain time attended by a host. Here all contributions will be about peace in the broadest sense. The event was held in English joined by presentations to make understanding easier. Our host Goran from Serbia took his job quite serious, each slammer hat 8 minutes before Goran used his noisy honk to finish the talk. Stefan from Serbia, Congsi from China, Himani from India, Siavash from Iran and Caterin from Colombia used the sense of peace in a broad perspective: from the peace treaty in Colombia to laughter in the time of Balkan war leading to prejudices we have about desert states and, yes, yoga… countless aspects can be heard in a peace slam.
After the movie the audience took part in a discussion with protagonists about living in Dresden as a foreigner, uncertainty regarding safety and the actual reasons for the situation we have in our town.
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Information about the film:
The documentary was shot in Dresden in March 2016 by an EUROPA TRANSIT film team of the cultural capital San Sebastian (Donostia). The film team was most interested about how our city is remembering its destruction in 1945 and how this historic experience influence the citizens’ attitude regarding the current refugee crisis. Thereby the Spanish filmmakers monitored not only the PEGIDA demonstrations each Monday (that did not impress them too much they said), in particular they observed a broad commitment of Dresden citizens for resorted people – in school projects at Bertolt-Brecht grammar school, at the so-called “Montagscafé” at the state theatre or in private support for newly-arrived Dresden citizens in the city district Johannstadt. Conflicts about human rights became obvious within the Dresden urban society, but likewise the natural solidarity and vivid humanistic culture of our city.
Protagonists of many different cultural and linguistic backgrounds are part of the movie, that is shown with English subtitles. Now you can see the movie on Youtube here.
More information about the activities: http://dss2016.eu/en/news/item/3125-europa-transit-san-sebastian-2016-s-travelling-embassy-has-arrived-in-dresden // www.friedenkulturstadt.de
This documentary was shown in Spain already, 24 September 2016 in Dresden was a Germany premiere.
Links:
Invitation postcard to the event
Movie „Dresden Refuge“ on Youtube
Photos: C. Reichert
