Girls* Riot Workshop
KUKI Festival
12th-19th November 2023
12th-19th November 2023
Girls* Riot Workshop
How do teenage girls want to be represented in film? What moves them and what topics do they consider important? The Girls* Riot Workshop offers a confidential, safe framework in which they can exchange ideas and experiences with one another. For one week, the 15- to 19-year-old participants viewed and discussed 20 international short films and engaged in discourse on topics such as everyday challenges, self-perception, the male gaze, authentic representation, intersectional feminism, power relations, and solidarity among women*.
On two of the workshop days, they received compelling input from the mentors Felipa Goltz and Elisa Aseva and were given an exclusive screening of the long-form documentary BRAINWASHED by US director Nina Menkes.
From a pre-selection of submitted short films, the young curators have created a program for the festival that consists of dynamic, creative film styles and narratives. Themes such as period poverty, underage girls in arranged marriages, mental health, father-daughter relationships, menstrual pain, and society's response to sexual assault shake patriarchy, illuminate and celebrate womanhood, and are tremendously empowering.
Thanks to our 2022 Girls* Riot curators!
Molly, Jasmin, Marta, Jasmine, Leia, Natascha, Lisa, Emma, Julia & Anna
Also many thanks to Rosa Lynch for her workshop assistence and wonderful report: Girls* Riot: The Radical Act of Asking Teenage Girls What They Want
You define yourself as a girl and want to join Girls* Riot next year? Write to us at info@kuki-berlin.com and we'll get in touch when we start planning next year's edition!
Here are a few excerpts from the feedback forms of this year's participants:
-Watching all the films and discussing them together, the mentors and our morning talks.
- I liked that you were allowed to talk so freely about your problems. Especially the round we always did in the morning. Everyone was super nice and open and I learned so much about myself and our society during this week.
- EVERYTHING!!! Especially: Food & snacks, everyone's openness and having a place where you feel at home and can discuss everything :)
- The food, the people, the conversations. We always felt comfortable sharing things and were listened to.
- How important it is to always listen to different opinions
- Aside from learning so many new and amazing things, this whole experience was like a self-awareness boost for me.
- I gained a better understanding of how others live their lives and how many injustices there are in this world (especially through the many films we watched)
- I will never be able to watch a film again without considering the Male-Gaze
- One is always stronger in a group
- More confident and secure in my skin
- More confidence in expressing my opinion
- Thank you so much for doing the workshop! I have never been able to speak my mind so freely and honestly as here, the workshop is really special!
- Thank you so much! <3 <3 <3
- I am so glad I participated!!!
- I hope you know how grateful I am for this workshop and your work. This week has inspired me so much and given me so much. Even though I struggled a bit. Girls* Riot has given me back some power and anger and hope.
- Nothing really, except that the workshop should be longer!
Thanks to our photographer Leah-Frederica Ilk!
