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!
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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