Sistren Book Release in Rome, Italy

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Saturday 18th April 2009

Sistren is a DIY book collection about the intersection of race, class, gender and sexuality by feminists, lesbians, queers and trans coming from forced migration, slavery and the diaspora discourse.

Readings by

Humaira Saeed (Manchester,UK)
Sachi Nehra (London, UK),
Grada Kilomba (Berlin, Germany)

Gig by Kerieva McCormick (Edimburg, Scotland)
"Kerieva is a mystery; she is a performing musician and singer and simultaneously
an international advocate of Roma(Gypsy) issues. Although based in Scotland, she
has lived in too many countries to mention, frequently sighted in Hungary, Serbia,
Macedonia, Ireland and Spain... Her latest recording is a new collaboration with
international artists; the music an exciting blend of styles which takes us on a
musical journey from Ireland through Eastern Europe in a way which can only be
described as a "Celtic/Romani rollercoaster ride."

Exhibition by Ira Miliucci and Sonia Sabelli (Rome,IT)

Italian Colonialism in Eastern Africa.
Video Installation
“Neger, Don’t Call Me” by Ingrid Mwangi, 1999 Germany/Kenya
“Dissimilate and Transgress” by Jane Jin Kaisen, 2005, Denmark/Korea
"Stepping Out" di Joe Cohen, 2008, UK

+DJSet Frankestein &Reic (Rimini, IT)

Sunday 19th April

Workshop “Race and Identity” by Humaira Saeed
Performance “About Racist Stereotypes” by Misster Scratch & Kerieva

DOCUMENTARY SCREENINGS
hello kitty is dead
by Geraldine Chung, Ann Poochareon, Vivian Wenli Lin, USA, 2003 - 8:30 min
In the eyes of the media, Asian women are caricatures of the submissive Oriental wife and the conniving Dragon Lady, the schoolgirl and the Asian news anchorwoman, as well as various types of sex slaves. Over the past 80 years in Hollywood and on TV, these stereotypes are what we, as a society, have internalized into a declining identity for women of Asian descent.

ARE YOU A GIRL OR WHAT? by Mathilda Phiel, Sweden 2007 – 30 min
In a backyard in the township of Katlehong a group of young lesbian guys let us ask questions about their lives and how they survive in a sexist, homophobic and often violent surrounding. Through adversities and hardship these young South Africans bear an immense amount of hope and courage.

Sunshine Boutique by Kagendo Murungi, USA/Kenya, 2007 – 30 min
A tribute to the healing journeys of African women artists in their communities around the world. Sunshine Boutique follows the stories of four women in New York, Philadelphia, Amsterdam and Cape Town. Their expressions for social change are accompanied by dance, visual art, original musical arrangements and the voices of poets, activists, singers, and filmmakers. Set in a tapestry of stunning vistas and invocations of hope from histories of struggle, Sunshine Boutique stands against homophobia, xenophobia, sexism and racism, while celebrating beauty, love and life.

NO! The Rape Documentary by Aishah Shahidah Simmons, USA, 2007 – 74 min
Produced and Directed over a period of eleven years, this groundbreaking feature length documentary features riveting testimonials from Black women rape survivor stories who defy victimization. Violence prevention advocates, theologians, sociologists, historians, anthropologists, and other leading scholars and human rights activists provide an interdisciplinary context with which to examine sexual violence in African-American communities. They also explore how rape is used as a weapon of homophobia.

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