Festival Goethe-Institut in Exile Afghanistan
FR 30.6.- SO 2.7.2023
Free entrance
Full program here
Goethe-Institut in Exile invites you to Afghanistan Festival (30.6.-2.7.2023). It marks the start of the new country focus on Afghanistan, which will accompany them until the end of this year.
Friday, 30 June:
The three-day kick-off festival presents numerous artistic productions from the Afghan exile community worldwide and the German-Afghan diaspora art scene. The festival will open on Friday, 30 June at 6:30 p.m. with a musical reading and greetings from Carola Lentz, the president of the Goethe-Institut. This will be followed by a concert by the Afghan singer Elaha Soroor and DJ sets by Farhot, DJ Masta Sai and Taman Noor.
Saturday, 1 July:
The programme begins at 10 a.m. with a survey of Kabul's cultural scene. Actress and director Malalai Zikria and artist Kabir Mokamel will talk about their respective recent trips to Kabul and their impressions of the city. With the puppet theatre play "Hans im Glück" by Abdul Haq Haqjoo, there will also be an offer for children and adults from 1:30 p.m. Festival co-curator Armeghan Taheri will present the diasporic cultural and literary magazine "What's Afghan Punk Rock, Anyway?", of which she is the founder, and will run a zine workshop for interested participants on Saturday and Sunday. The Afghan exile diaspora in other countries will be included in the programme in the form of a cooperation with the Simurgh Centre of the Goethe-Institut New Delhi. In the afternoon, the artist Mahbuba Maqsoodi and the former director of Afghan Film Siddiq Barmak, among others, will discuss on the panel "On the diversity and preservation of culture in Afghanistan and in exile".
The film programme with Afghan documentaries and feature films focuses on Afghan film history and film productions by women. "The Forbidden Reel" by Ariel Nasir shows the history of Afghan cinema over the last 60 years at 5 p.m.; filmmaker Latif Ahmadi, one of the protagonists of the film, will be on hand for the discussion afterwards. Another highlight will be the film screenings and a talk with award-winning director Shahrbanoo Sadat. In the ACUD Theatre, the AWA Theatre Ensemble will present the play "Fear and Hope", in which the young refugee protagonists share their experiences with the audience. The evening will close with a concert by pop artist Maschall Ander at the ACUD Club from 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, 2 July:
At 10:30 a.m., the children's programme starts with a workshop and Afghan games. A matinée reading at 11 a.m. presents current Afghan literature and shows the perspective of women on Afghanistan. A panel discussion on the current situation of Afghan literature in exile in Germany will follow at 3 p.m. At 4 p.m., a film screening and a talk will discuss the significance of the Goethe-Institut Kabul for the genesis and production history of the Afghan animation film scene. At 6 p.m., the German-Afghan director Zamarin Wahdad will present her short film "Bambirak", followed by the award-winning feature film "Hava, Maryam, Ayesha" by director Sahraa Karimi, which sensitively shows the challenges faced by women in Afghanistan.
The second major panel discussion will take place in the ACUD Studio in the afternoon. The topic is "The Role of Culture in the Years 2001-2021". Participants will include the founder and director of the Centre for Contemporary Art of Afghanistan (CCAA), Rahraw Omarzad. The German-Afghan author Mina Jawad will present her play "Shar-e Naw in Berlin" at 7:30 p.m. at the ACUD Theatre, in which she deals with the situation of the diasporic Afghan community in Germany. The weekend will come to a close on Sunday evening with the rappers of the group AK13 and the breakdancers of the Superiors Crew; in their lyrics they deal with the traumatic experiences of war and displacement - it starts at 8:30 pm.
Cross-day programme:
In the forecourt of the ACUD, the Afghan art collective ArtLords will be creating a collaborative mural throughout the weekend, taking motifs from Afghanistan and implementing them together with the public. In the passageway to the courtyard, works by Shiraz Fazli and Qeas Pirzad can be seen, both of which have in their own way a historical and at the same time dreamlike aesthetic that allows one to look forward and back. A video collage by Parwana Haydar and the AVAH Collective comments on the gaping holes in Afghanistan's war-torn history. Even before the official opening of the festival, a musical talk on 29 June will set the mood for the country focus on Afghanistan. In the community space and studio of the radio station "Refuge Worldwide", the Goethe-Institut in Exile invites the Afghan-born musician and cultural scientist Taman Noor to a discussion followed by a musical performance. The radio programme will also feature two discussion rounds on feminism in Afghan literature and culture and on Afghan futurism. In addition, the festival will be accompanied by various live radio broadcasts by reboot.fm, the art radio station based at ACUD.
Entrance is free for all events, for the theatre plays a registration for free tickets is recommended. The workshops and kids' programme are by registration at im-exil@goethe.de
Please note: Due to water damage, the lift in the venue is out of service. If you are dependent on the lift and require assistance, please feel free to contact us at im-exil@goethe.de