What is the balance of curation and community-consultation especially when cultural identities are so fraught and disparate? How can a community-rooted event still serve as an invitation for learning and connection across differences?

These are some of the themes that we explore with our guest this week, Hajer Al-Awsi. Alongside her new role festival director of the inaugural SWANA Film Festival, writer, arts worker and founder of Iraqi Diaspora Creatives Network. She joined Race Matters to chat through the new festival and thoughts behind the curation, as well as delving into the joys and challenges of presenting art of a complex and rich region. 

Catch SWANA Film Fest from April 28- 30, showcasing over 20 films spanning across Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Armenia, and Syria!

SWANA Film Festival is a project of Arts and Cultural Exchange Parramatta and is supported by Screen NSW, City of Parramatta and Arab Theatre Studio.

What is the balance of curation and community-consultation especially when cultural identities are so fraught and disparate? How can a community-rooted event still serve as an invitation for learning and connection across differences?
These are some of the themes that we explore with our guest this week, Hajer Al-Awsi. Alongside her new role festival director of the inaugural <a href="https://riversideparramatta.com.au/category/cinema/filmfestivals/swana-film-festival/">SWANA Film Festival</a>, writer, arts worker and founder of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/iraqi_diaspora/">Iraqi Diaspora Creatives Network</a>. She joined Race Matters to chat through the new festival and thoughts behind the curation, as well as delving into the joys and challenges of presenting art of a complex and rich region. 
Catch SWANA Film Fest from April 28- 30, showcasing over 20 films spanning across Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Armenia, and Syria!
<hr>
SWANA Film Festival is a project of Arts and Cultural Exchange Parramatta and is supported by Screen NSW, City of Parramatta and Arab Theatre Studio.

Race Matters is an anti-racist show that explores the values and complexities of race, culture and identity. In-depth interviews and unique story telling and spanning arts, music, politics, global and local events, plus experimental audio and community takeovers.

Listen back to all our episodes on fbi.radio including radio exclusives, and stay up to date on our instagram 

Listen to our Solidarity Syndicate series - sharing across airwaves and borders and our Liquid Homelands series - an experimental, queer audio offering

We honor all hosts, producers, storytellers that have made this work possible as well as the long tradition of storytelling, resistance and resilience that has taken place on Gadigal Country, where fbi.radio broadcasts out of.  

Our logo design by Jessica Mulet, our theme songs was composed by Mateo Baskaran 

Race Matters is made possible thanks to the Community Broadcasting Foundation

Race Matters is an anti-racist&nbsp;show that explores the values and complexities of race, culture and identity. In-depth interviews and unique story telling and spanning arts, music, politics, global and local events, plus experimental audio and community takeovers.
Listen back to <a href="https://www.fbi.radio/programs/race-matters">all our episodes on fbi.radio</a> including radio exclusives, and stay up to date on our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/race_matters/">instagram</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://soundcloud.com/fbiradiosydney/sets/race-matters-sol-dar-ty-synd">Listen to our Solidarity Syndicate series</a> - sharing across airwaves and borders and our&nbsp;<a href="https://soundcloud.com/fbiradiosydney/sets/racematters_liquid-homelands">Liquid Homelands</a> series - an experimental, queer audio offering
We honor all hosts, producers, storytellers that have made this work possible as well as the long tradition of storytelling, resistance and resilience that has taken place on Gadigal Country, where fbi.radio broadcasts out of.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Our logo design by Jessica Mulet, our theme songs was composed by Mateo Baskaran&nbsp;
Race Matters is made possible thanks to the&nbsp;<a href="https://cbf.org.au/">Community Broadcasting Foundation</a>

Conversations about the values and complexities of race, culture, identity

Race Matters

Beyond representation. Anti-racist radio with in-depth interviews and unique story telling spanning arts, music, global politics, local events + more

Beyond representation. Anti-racist radio with in-depth interviews and unique story telling spanning arts, music, global politics, local events + more

#135: Cinema Beyond Borders (with Hajer Al-Awsi / SWANA Film Fest)

"We have been doing this because we love our people”

Joannie Lee and Sara El Youghun welcome Moh, a community builder and organiser from Myanmar to talk about her peoples’ fight for freedom, self-determination and justice from brutal military imperialism. Together they talk about taking pride in our solidarity and what it takes to keep our collective movement for liberation alive and interconnected. We honour the people fighting on the ground in Myanmar and look to them to hold steadfast here in this colony. 

The people of Myanmar will not be forgotten. You can check out more info here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/s/all-in-one-piece-movement-sydn/4291906044463956

Many thanks to Janey Li for producing this episode and our beloved Executive Producer, Shareeka Helaluddin for all her support. Podcast mixed by Janey Li. 

"We have been doing this because we love our people&rdquo; Joannie Lee and Sara El Youghun welcome Moh, a community builder and organiser from Myanmar to talk about her peoples&rsquo; fight for freedom, self-determination and justice from brutal military imperialism. Together they talk about taking pride in our solidarity and what it takes to keep our collective movement for liberation alive and interconnected. We honour the people fighting on the ground in Myanmar and look to them to hold steadfast here in this colony. The people of Myanmar will not be forgotten. You can check out more info here:
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/s/all-in-one-piece-movement-sydn/4291906044463956">https://www.facebook.com/events/s/all-in-one-piece-movement-sydn/4291906044463956</a>
Many thanks to Janey Li for producing this episode and our beloved Executive Producer, Shareeka Helaluddin for all her support. Podcast mixed by Janey Li.&nbsp;

#191 All in one movement for Myanmar

"I want it to feel like you're in my living room including the chaos"

On today's show, Alicia Zhao and Bruce Koussaba (of Liberation Cinema) are in conversation with the brilliant and staunch organiser of Miya Miya Film Club, Karim Nasser. Miya Miya is a grassroots, community film screening space, carved out as a gathering place for discovery, dialogue and connection - centred around cinema from the SWANA region. Together, Alicia, Bruce and Karim talk about why these independent microcinema spaces matter, how they reshape possibility, and act as a conduit for building a more expansive creative scene in so-called Sydney.

Learn more about Miya Miya here:

Website: https://www.miyamiyafilmclub.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/miyamiyafilmclub

Next event: https://www.miyamiyafilmclub.com/upcoming-events/i-cant-think-straight

This episode was produced by Alicia Zhao and Bruce Koussaba, with support from Samantha Haran. Podcast production by Shareeka Helaluddin. 

"I want it to feel like you're in my living room including the chaos"
On today's show, Alicia Zhao and Bruce Koussaba (of&nbsp;Liberation Cinema) are in conversation with the brilliant and staunch organiser of&nbsp;Miya Miya Film Club,&nbsp;Karim Nasser. Miya Miya is a grassroots, community film screening space, carved out as a gathering place for discovery, dialogue and connection - centred around cinema from the SWANA region. Together, Alicia, Bruce and Karim talk about why these independent microcinema spaces matter, how they reshape possibility, and act as a conduit for building a more expansive creative scene in so-called Sydney.
Learn more about Miya Miya&nbsp;here:
Website:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.miyamiyafilmclub.com/">https://www.miyamiyafilmclub.com/</a>
Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="https://instagram.com/miyamiyafilmclub">https://instagram.com/miyamiyafilmclub</a>
Next event:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.miyamiyafilmclub.com/upcoming-events/i-cant-think-straight">https://www.miyamiyafilmclub.com/upcoming-events/i-cant-think-straight</a>
This episode was produced by Alicia Zhao and Bruce Koussaba, with support from Samantha Haran. Podcast production by Shareeka Helaluddin.&nbsp;

#190 On forging community cinema spaces 

To be able to truly envision better world—not just in vague outlines, but vividly in all its colour and brilliance, so much so that you begin to taste on it on your tongue—is the first step to making revolution.

A special collaboration with R.T. Samuel takes us on a journey through their deep and abiding love of speculative fiction, and the possibilities in holds for liberatory world-making, particular Dalit futurisms. RT is a Dalit cultural producer working between London and New Delhi, and a co-editor of the speculative fiction collection, 'The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF.' In conversation with different writers from the anthology including Rahee Punyashloka / Artedkar and Hameedha Khan; RT roams across a range of South Asian histories of oppression and resistance, and explores how science fiction can up open new ways of seeing the world.

Learn more
The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF: https://www.blaft.com/products/the-blaft-book-of-anti-caste-sf
Follow RT's work via their instagram
Anti-caste SF is available locally in-person or online through the Magenta House

This piece was produced by R. T. Samuel with additional sound design and supervision by Shareeka Helaluddin.

To be able to truly envision better world&mdash;not just in vague outlines, but vividly in all its colour and brilliance, so much so that you begin to taste on it on your tongue&mdash;is the first step to making revolution.
A special collaboration with R.T. Samuel takes us on a journey through their deep and abiding love of speculative fiction, and the possibilities in holds for liberatory world-making, particular Dalit futurisms. RT is a Dalit cultural producer working between London and New Delhi, and a co-editor of the speculative fiction collection, 'The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF.' In conversation with different writers from the anthology including Rahee Punyashloka / Artedkar and Hameedha Khan; RT roams across a range of South Asian histories of oppression and resistance, and explores how science fiction can up open new ways of seeing the world. Learn more The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blaft.com/products/the-blaft-book-of-anti-caste-sf">https://www.blaft.com/products/the-blaft-book-of-anti-caste-sf</a> Follow RT's work&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/mithran.rt/?hl=en">via their instagram</a> Anti-caste SF is available locally in-person or online through the&nbsp;<a href="https://magentahouse.com.au/">Magenta House</a> This piece was produced by R. T. Samuel with additional sound design and supervision by Shareeka Helaluddin.

#135: Cinema Beyond Borders (with Hajer Al-Awsi / SWANA Film Fest)

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