Presentations Session 2

10:00Against All Odds – Latin-American Experiences of Exile and DiasporaJosé Quental, José Luis Aparicio Ferrera, Alejandra Larrea Galarza This session presents three examples to address the precarious conditions of making Latin American films in and about the diaspora – and of preserving such works.

Following repression in Brazil, Júlio Bressane shot his avantgarde film 'Amor Louco' ('Crazy Love', BR/UK 1971) during his time of exile in London and was only able to preserve a single 16mm screening print upon his return to his home country. 'Tent City' (CU/USA 1981), which Miñuca and Fernando Villaverde filmed in a provisional Cuban refugee camp set up under a Miami highway, is explored as a type of 'stateless cinema' made outside of institutional frameworks.

Mónica Vásquez's 'Tiempo de Mujeres' ('Time of Women', ECU 1987), documents women's organisational strategies in an Ecuadorian village after the majority of the men have migrated to the US in search of better working conditions. The film itself was marked by fragmentation and displacement following the director's own migration to Germany.

Supported by film excerpts, these three case studies will examine the ways in which the films first struggled to come into existence and were subsequently threatened by physical and historical erasure after they had been made.

11:00Engaging with Risk: Strategic Adaptation as MethodMarkus Ruff, Stefanie Schulte Strathaus Arsenal's film archive reflects the institute's long-standing commitment to international cinema, not least through its role as the organizer of the Berlinale's Forum section since 1971. For some, the Arsenal has become a haven for independent cinema.

This implies responsibility: If we consider cultural heritage in a global context as something shared, then the task is to jointly build archival projects. But what if the power structure in a partner country shifts? What if new political circumstances require that an archive be quickly removed from the country? What if war forces project partners to flee, leaving behind films with no possibility of access?

Strategic adaptation then becomes a fundamental methodology and also turns the lens inward: How is risk assessed across different political and cultural contexts – and how do we define risk? Who bears the risk? What does resilience mean in practice? What can we learn from transnational cooperation?

Markus Ruff and Stefanie Schulte Strathaus will present collaborative film restoration projects from Guinea-Bissau, Lebanon, Sudan and Iran – all countries marked by political circumstances that shifted, sometimes repeatedly and drastically, over the course of the projects.