... ANIMATED FEMINISMS ...

Dear readers,

the month of October started with a lot of work with the preparation of StopTrik. StopTrik is a festival dedicated to animation cinema, especially stop motion cinema (images by images). This year's festival had as its theme feminism. Stoptrik lasted one week and includes various events. There are several competitions, the general competition which is divided into 3 screening sessions, the public has the opportunity to vote. There is also a competition for more experimental films called "Borderland". We also find an exhibition in the enclosure of the Vertinsky dvor, I helped to install it. During the week, I participated in the Workshop proposed by Ana Nedeljković and Nikola Majdak "ANIMATED FEMINISMS".

It was a very enriching moment for me and very motivating to regain my creativity. Humanely very rich and intense and I really enjoyed learning the basics of stop motion animation. I was also able to understand a little more about the creative process of a film and the importance of a story board. In addition, this workshop was a means of exchanging ideas on feminism and gender issues with people of different backgrounds.

My favorite part of the festival were not screenings but a play that was presented as part of the festival and performed in the GT22 venue. This play approaches the issue of gender identity in a different way in a manner that is really unexpected to me. After swearing to be chaste, they change their names, dress in men's clothing, and work in the areas reserved for them. In doing so, they gain the respect and power usually intended for the "strong sex». I liked this piece very much because of its form but also because of its problematic, because we feel respect for these women but also a note of criticism about the heteronormativity of society. I have tried to write a review since then because I am really interested in this play.

The following week, we participated in a workshop for children with disabilities, we created a game for guests to play and discuss with us. On Wednesday, we created another game for a workshop organized as part of Children's Rights Week. We imagined a game around fairy tales: the children had to find the original name of the tale, the Slovenian name and the author's country of origin. It was a pleasant moment. We also participated in the stoptrik storage during this week and had several meetings to discuss future projects and the implementation of our personal workshops. On Friday evening, was critical presentation of Palestina at Pekarna Magdalenske mreže. The presentation was done by Slovenian and Palestinian youth who participate in youth exchange in October on which they get to know culture, habits and specialties of both countries. They present the life of today’s youth in occupied Palestine and how do they fight for a better future. I really enjoyed learning more and hearing from young people who are experiencing conflict on a daily basis. It was quite moving. The second part on art in Palestine was also very enriching. For the end of the event, we were able to enjoy falafel and hummus from one of my restaurants in Maribor: Mr Falafel.

After the workshop, I visited Sarajevo with Arman and Louyse, a Brazilian friend. This trip was very interesting for many reasons. I always have in mind the images of the Sarajevo conflict when I was a child, and arriving in this city was quite emotional for me. This trip taught me a lot about the conflict. We discovered the different districts. The city develops like a chronological frieze from east to west. The eastern part has an architecture very marked by oriental culture. There are several mosques and the Turkish district which looks like zouk with several small shops. Along the river, we find an architecture more typical of Austro-Hungarian architecture. Finally, the west is the new Sarajevo with a modernist and brutalist architecture. However, this city is really very beautiful and I really appreciated the dynamics and the very special atmosphere. It's a mixture of different types of culture and I really hope to return one day. Maybe for the film festival.

I really enjoyed attending the Vegan meal organized every month. The first part was a reading dealing with analogical links between Marx and Engel's philosophy, modernist architecture in relation to the meat industry and capitalism. It was very instructive to address this issue through this process. I had prepared a vegan pumpkin pie for the occasion, it was my first and it was a success. :) Following Friday I attend the opening of Martin Ramoveš's exhibition: Po robu. It is an exhibition based on Martin Ramoveš latest comic strip in homage to the Slovenian poet Ivan Rob. It's an autobiographical comic strip. The opening was followed by live show of the rock band of Martin Ramoveš.

The next Monday, we visited Kibla portal with Sedmi Glas. We have been learning in a workshop on how to make a podcast. We have tried to make a podcast with Živa, the curator of the exhibition and after Živa mad a tour about the exhibition. The exhibition was really mixte about techniques and kind of piece of art. The meaning of exhibition is to talk about the actual situation of the world in a critical way. Since I'm here, I learn a lot about the Balkan history and the refugee situation in the world.

On Wednesday, we meet Nejc from a Drogart. Drogart is an organisation about prevention and sensibilisation of drugs and sexuality. We talked about the event for the World Aids Day we will organised. This event will be on the 5th of December and one person from Drogart will come to talk about the different action of Drogart. After the lecture we will watch "120 Heartbeat by minutes" and talk about the movie.
On Thursday evening, there was the first Filmopeka held by ESC volunteer and it was the last day of Arman staying in the organization. The movie was "The bitter tears of Petra von kant" from the director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Really interesting movie andI really like the esthetic of this film.
On Friday, I was a volunteer for a LGBTIQ event named "All for Rainbow". We were in the center of Maribor and invite people to play a game of sensibilisation about the privilege to be heterosexual into this society.

See you in November. :)
Gilles