Ever since moving to Berlin, I have struggled with the city’s food culture.
We have a saying in my hometown that links spicy food to strength, leadership and resilience. Eating spicy food in Berlin has been my resistance to the “German Scharf” even though my tolerance to spiciness has substantially decreased over the years.
In this workshop, as we cook, share stories and enjoy a spicy meal from Campus Dammweg’s garden, we will explore our relationship of food to resilience.
Popo Fan is a filmmaker and writer. Born in China, he has been living and working in Berlin since 2017. Fan’s queer documentaries and short films, embodying elements of sex and comedy, aim to empower. He is the founder of the Queer University Video Training Camp and has been organizing the Beijing Queer Film Festival for over a decade. Fan is currently developing his debut feature-length script.
popofan.net
Urban Resilience
One’s definition and experience of resilience is informed by, and not limited to, one’s sociocultural background, identity, sentiments of belonging, gender and support systems. The definition of resilience in the West is centered on one’s ability to confront one’s hardships without falling apart, signaling resilience as the ability to prevent or to stop damage, at times reverting back to a place of departure. It is tied to class, education, privilege, identity, gender and economic factors. Whereas, resilience in post-colonial or transnational spaces could mean the ability to cope with pain, trauma, loss, injustice and inequality. It is a fight for survival and healing.
How can we regard resilience as a multitude of intersectional spaces to decompress, heal, defend and empower? What are the tools of defense? Is resilience a strength, a coping mechanism, a strategy of damage-control, a position of privilege or a contingency of knowledge? How does it affect and transform bodies?
Curated by Ali El-Darsa and Anna de Carlo. Coordinated by Berlin Mondiale.
Registration
Please register here on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/397232775742821