Panel: Jailbird : On Prison, Persecution and Poetry

With Rand Abou Fakher, Monika Borgmann and Yazan Rabee. Moderated by Rasha Abbas.

> Saturday 26.4.2025 | 17:00
Sinema Transtopia | Free Admission

Prison literature and prisoner’s cinema as artistic genres have long been instrumental in shaping our political imaginaries. They present us with the possibility of liberation but also an ethical conundrum. With the post-apocalyptic visuals and stories of liberated prisoners that have recently emerged from both Palestine and Syria, we are left overwhelmed with emotions of extreme joy and intense grief alike. This panel will question how narratives from and about imprisonment can be processed, both artistically and politically, using cinema, activism, and poetry as entry points

This panel attempts to probe these complex questions using cinema, activism, and poetry as entry points.

Rand Abou Fakher is a filmmaker and artist known for her award-winning film So We Live. She works as a programmer and mentor alongside developing her upcoming feature films.

Monika Borgmann-Slim is a German-Lebanese film director and journalist. She co-founded UMAM D&R in 2005, where she leads projects and archival work on violence, memory, and cultural history.

Yazan Rabee is a Syrian filmmaker based in the Netherlands whose work spans fiction and documentary, often delving into themes of trauma, memory, and resilience inspired by his personal journey of displacement.

Rasha Abbas is a Syrian writer and journalist based in Berlin. She has published works including the short story collection The Gist of It. Her writing often addresses themes of displacement and identity.

In cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.