In the last few months Hudara has held several events, including a film night and an online discussion.

For the film evening on October 14, 2020, we and Kandaka Productions were kindly hosted by Oyoun Berlin. It was the premiere of the documentary “schwarz In Berlin”; followed by a conversation with filmmaker Amuna Wagner and editor Hannah Wolny, as well as the protagonists Helli, Betty and Melanie. “schwarz” offers an insight into conversations between black Germans from Nuremberg, Bavaria. 16 people between the ages of 16 and 31 talk in a garden about their preferred self-definitions, their experiences with everyday racism and the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. Do they feel represented and valued in German society? Who inspires them? What is it that makes them black? This documentary is a personal approach to contemporary Black German experiences. We shared this wonderful evening with the audience who traveled from Berlin, as well as Nuremberg, London and other places especially for this screening! It was a great pleasure to spend the evening with artists, researchers, and people from our communities, talking about BIPOC art in Germany (Black, Indigenous, People Of Color), BLM (Black Lives Matter), art that defies the white gaze, and sharing concepts of black joy in art and cinema.

On January 31, 2021 Maria Zhiguleva and Dr. Sofia Varino spoke about self-care, what it means in general and for us collectively and individually. They discussed notions of self-care within radicalism and activism and reflected on the different ways we can care for ourselves and for others. Guiding the discussion was Zemdena Abebe’s description, “If I had to define self-care, I would define it as an intentional process that is constantly working on refusing to die. It is a direct struggle with aggressive systems of oppression and a victory at every breath – at every second, minute, hour, day, month, year. It is every moment of life. It is every breath! For me, one way to practice self-care is to consciously locate yourself in radical feminist thought and action. Identifying as a radical black feminist and going about your daily life is a conscious choice of self-care, self-love, and collective preservation.” Maria Zhiguleva is a Moscow-born, Berlin-based research associate at Hudara. She earned her BSc in Psychology and MSc in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. Dr. Sofia Varino is a cultural historian, author and activist living in Berlin. She works as a postdoctoral researcher in the MINOR COSMOPOLITANISMS graduate program at the Institute of English & American Studies at the University of Potsdam. We thank all participant for their insights and contributions and for being there with us.