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Hold on to her

Robin Vanbesien
OPENBARE WERKEN FESTIVAL

Tickets via Studio Skoop

On May 15th, there will be a discussion (in Dutch) with Robin Vanbesien after the screening.

A documentary about a people's tribunal following the death of Mawda Shari during a migration border control

Robin Vanbesien's 'hold on to her' traces a lived social infrastructure of care, solidarity and  struggle that addresses a recent case of police and state violence in the context of migration  border control in Belgium.

Mawda Shawri, two years old in 2018, daughter of Phrast and Shamden, sister of Hama,  was shot dead by a Belgian police officer during a migration border control on a central  highway.  

In 2023, over 40 people, both undocumented and documented resident activists, assembled  before the camera at La Voix des sans papiers in Brussels to stage a collective hearing of  documents from and reactions to Mawda’s case.  

A ghostly haunting is acknowledged, caused by police impunity and lack of accountability of  the state. In their refusal of such a shortage of truth and human rights the activists feel the  need to explore beyond the official narratives. They produce the counter-evidence of this  deadly crossing, and they practice justice as a sensuous social space for collective mourning  and healing. Faced with the inability to proceed within the dominant frameworks, this hearing  challenges what is visible and audible, foregrounding the opaque and the poetic. 

 

Part of

“Rigorous but rarely difficult, ‘hold on to her’ excellently combines testimony from migrants and activists with footage of the highway on which it occurred, creating a moving exploration of how these events aren’t the exception but the very product of an unjust system.”

Journey into Cinema – Redmond Bacon

With: Aïsta Bah, Marcus Bergner, Thierno Dia, Henriette Essami-Khaullot, Mirra Markhaeva, Lázara Rosell Albear, Ahmed Rzgar, Naomi van Kleef, Khaled Zead – Writer & Director: Robin Vanbesien – Producers: Steven Doedt, Robin Vanbesien – Director of Photography: Diren Agbaba – Additional Photography: Robin Vanbesien – Editor: Robin Vanbesien – Sound Designer: Boris Debackere – Re-recording Mixer: Thomas Ferrando – Colorist: Lennert De Taeye – Graphic Designer: Goda Budvytyte – In collaboration with: La Voix des sans papiers de Bruxelles – A production by: VISUALANTICS – A co-production with: timely – Supported by: Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), the Belgian federal government’s Tax Shelter scheme via Flanders Tax Shelter, Flemish Community Commission (VGC), Atelier Graphoui, Kunstencentrum Viernulvier, Sint Lucas Antwerp Research Group (SLARG), Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts (ARIA) – Belgium Distribution: Tinne Bral – Art Faces Art – Germany Distribution: Arsenal Institut für film und videokunst e.V. – World Sales Agent: Michaela Cajkova – Filmotor