FOOD & FOOTAGE: On Land Politics

In the organizer's words:

Independent films in combination with food

For this edition of FOOD & FOOTAGE, we have put together two short films that deal with land politics between urban and "natural" spaces. Both documentaries shed light on local communities and their struggle against resource extraction and displacement through participatory dynamics and self-organized structures. Either on an empty urban space that is perceived as dangerous and unplanned and is taken over by neighbors and collectives to care for it and collectively develop a meaningful use for it; or directly on forest land, where informal settlements and shelters become a direct means of activism.

An Atlas of Forest Occupations is a documentary that explores forest occupations as sites of resistance, care and alternative architecture. Traveling between occupations, it documents structures, everyday life and collective strategies of communities defending forests. By foregrounding radical sustainability and self-organized living, he brings these overlooked practices into the architectural discourse and redefines the relationships between shelter, nature and activism.

The documentary film Die Plätze, denen die sie beleben accompanies the non-profit project ALTER in Mannheim, an open urban meeting place where people from different backgrounds come together. As urban renewal and increasing conflict threaten the future of the project, the film observes everyday life in the square in a time of uncertainty and explores how community, conflict and urban reality meet in public space - and what role such places play in the city.

Films

The squares, those who animate them
by Ute Seitz & Shooresh Fezoni
33'00''
Germany, 2025
German with English subtitles

An Atlas of Forest Occupations
by Bernadetta Budzik and Rachel Rouzaud
20'00''
France/Poland/Germany, 2025
in English

The screening is free of charge; the purchase of a dinner is not a prerequisite for attending the movie night.
The price for the menu is 15 euros per person (drinks not included).

Admission: 19:00
Dinner: 19:30
Film starts: 20:30

This event has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement No 101178706.