Statement Theo Panagopoulos

Curatorial Statement: Theo Panagopoulos

WEAVING TOMORROWS
FOCUS 04 They Did Not Recognise Me in the Shadows 

When I was personally invited by the team of Interfilm Berlin to curate a program on their Weaving tomorrows section, I instantly wondered: what does tomorrow look like for Palestinians who face genocide and mass starvation in Gaza right now? How can we think of tomorrow without engaging with our “today” that safeguards our “tomorrow”?

I decided to accept the invitation considering that the festival doesn’t receive any governmental money and due to the team’s willingness to offer me the platform to engage with Palestine on my own terms.

With this program, I stand in solidarity with the work of “Strike Germany” that fights against the German state’s repression of human rights and its support of Israel’s extermination of Palestinians, understanding the power of boycotts as a tool of keeping the powerful accountable, especially in our cultural and film world.

I also honour the work of Palestinians and Arabs on ground in Berlin who fight every day against such heightened oppression and censorship. I curated this program of Palestinian films fully aware that it can only be valuable when Palestinian lives and resisting their erasure comes to the forefront.