Vive la France
Mass protests all over France signal that tolerance for Emmanuel Macron’s unapologetically neoliberal and heavy-handed rule has run out. Turmoil was triggered by an unpopular reform that foresees a raise of the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 and requires people to work for 43 years to qualify for a full pension. While the reform is not exactly radical, inefficient checks and balances towards the presidency under the 5th Republic, shaky public finances and embedded economic inequality, as well as the fact that the President is a simply insufferable persona for a growing part of French society, have triggered this wave of unrest. Inter Alia stands in solidarity with people-driven, transcendent and cross-sectoral efforts to do away with oppressive structures. A main tool at our disposal to contribute to such processes is the Positively Different Short Film Festival. “PDSFF23 | Resistances” took place in March in seven cities around the world to connect struggles and build resistances across different socio-political contexts.
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In Greece, general elections were announced. At last! Following massive rallies by people protesting against the State’s criminal responsibilities for the terrible train crash in the northern part of the country and, given that the end of the government’s four-year term is approaching, the Prime Minister called for elections on 21 May. The end of the government’s term is a darker time for democracy in Greece than?the beginning; recent hearings, investigations and reports in the European Parliament regarding the state of the Rule of Law in the country after the recent wiretapping scandal, reaffirm this downward spiral. You can read all major policy developments coming from Brussels and Strasbourg in the fields of civil rights, social affairs, education, youth, migration in our monthly bulletin “Our Eye on the EU”.??
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While March is the month for Inter Alia’s main event connected to cinema, a struggle with great political and cultural importance is taking place these days in central Athens. Two historical cinemas in the heart of the city are threatened by the policies of gentrification and capitalist greed. The state-owned buildings where they are hosted are to be left unprotected, to be rented by the highest bidder - be it a supermarket, office or hotel. As people and spaces of culture are under an escalating attack, Inter Alia supports ΑΣΤΟΡ and IDEAL and their people as symbols of a city that remembers and honours its culture and heritage. PDSFF23 materials will be available to screen for free in support of their struggles.?
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Keep inspiring social change!
the Inter Alia team
News & Updates
Positively Different Short Film Festival | Resistances, 16-19 March @ Trianon
PDSFF23 commenced with the announcement of free admission screenings, open to the public, as a minimum symbolic support to the strike on Thursday 16 March. With full-house screenings every night of the four-day event and filmmakers attending after long delays and canceled flights, we - once again - realise the importance of storytelling and coming together in times when we are expected to retreat.
We wholeheartedly thank all the creators for sharing their stories, the festival workers, the subtitlers, the volunteers, curators, guest speakers, and everyone showing up and flooding cine TRIANON with their support and enthusiasm amidst the agonising developments in the Greek political sphere.
Our Eye on the EU
This month’s edition of “Our Eye on the EU” explores the social dimension of the debate on skills that is taking place at EU level: we talk about the quality of employment for young people and new measures for adequate minimum income, and about how these issues are relevant to the European Year of Skills initiative. You will also find our position on the current state of civic space and participatory democracy in the EU, as well as on new developments in the rules on migration and asylum, in light of the tragedy that happened in the Italian shores in recent weeks.
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Outcast Europe: The journey goes on. Collection days @ Shedia Home & Mesopotamia
Placing movement and displacement in a wider context of exploring belonging and alienation, Outcast Europe co-organised a collection day with Shedia Home, in Athens, titled?My amulet. On 22 March, we met the vendors of the street magazine at Shedia’s café, who brought items that hold a symbolic and/or emotional significance for them and their personal story of movement. The items “narrated” the stories of the vendors, their past professions, their hobbies, the moments and relationships that changed their lives.
On Saturday 8 April, Outcast Europe, Inter Alia and Mesopotamia Solidarity School co-host a collection day, dedicated to community memory and oral history, which will be followed by a celebration open to the public.
Filming at Intersections and overcoming struggles
Twenty learners from Malta, Germany and Greece, members of our local working groups on intersectionality, regathered in Athens, after December’s filmmaking seminar. They took part in a training on advocacy and fundraising and to attend PDSFF23, which included an official screening of their eight films. The films tell stories of solidarity, explore belonging and connections between people and places, show struggles, satirise and subvert stereotypes, claim and create spaces. During their visit, participants learned and discussed how to fundraise for their projects and launch their own campaigns, while they also participated in an open discussion following the screening of their films on the big screen. They left with newfound excitement and motivation, as well as ideas for new films, campaigns and all kinds of actions.
Open Call ECHO Academies Comic Artists @ Athens, Greece, June 2023
We are excited to announce the open call for comic artists for the ECHO Academy in Athens, Greece!?
Ten comic artists will be selected from the EU and the Western Balkans and asked to create an artwork inspired by Karagiozis Shadow Puppet Theatre.?Cash prizes are available for the three winning artists, who will implement a pilot project back in their place of residence. The programme will cover travel costs, accommodation and food for the duration of the residency.?
The original creations of the artists will be published in a collective publication by Jemma Press.?
More incentives for artists are:?Portfolio development |?Capacity development |?Networking - international collaboration - visibility |?Consultations for marketability |?Mentorship programme on one-to-one consultations