BIPoC Film Society

Three Germany-based QTBIPoC filmmakers will discuss their creative processes and how they create pathways to bring complex and nuanced stories to the screen. This 90 minute panel will be an one hour long moderated discussion about the creative process, followed by a community style town-hall where participants can ask questions and discuss their own creative practices.

BIPoC Filmsociety is a berlin-based collective of filmmakers & researchers, focusing on spotlighting films by and with Black, Indigenous and People of Color.

Lamin Leroy Gibba (he/him), born in 1994 and raised in Hamburg, is an actor, writer and filmmaker. As an actor he gained early theater experiences in the youth group of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg and later completed his acting and film degree at the New School University in New York City. While and during his studies he appeared in various theater productions (Classical Theater of Harlem, Lincoln Center, Performance Space New York) and developed new plays. Lamin has written and produced short films, including »Fever Source« which was selected for the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival and the medium-length film »Cloud Zero«. Lamin lives in Berlin, where he works as an actor and writes scripts for film, series and theater projects.

Maissa Lihedheb (she/her) was born in Germany as the daughter of Tunisian immigrants. She studied media and entertainment management and wrote her dissertation on »Symbolic Annihilation in Mass Media and Its Effects on the Identity of First Generation Immigrants«. She presented her work at ACUD, Mix Film Festival, Foto Klub Kollektiv, Femme New World, Romaterial and The Womb, among others. Maissa directed six short films, three music videos and is also the co-founder of BIPOC FILMSOCIETY. She has further been jury member for Stadt Mitte Museum and Internationales Studierendenfilmfestival Sehsüchte at the Filmakademie Potsdamm.

Sarnt Utamachote (they). Aiming to draw the bridge between archives of social movements, diasporic community-building and creative expressions, they work as a film curator, as well as local film producer, editor and director. Their video installation »I Am Not Your Mother« (2020) was exhibited at the International Rotterdam Film Festival. Their short film »Soy Sauce« (2020) was screened at, for example, OutFest Fusion, Xposed Queer Film Festival Berlin and Queer East London 2021. Their upcoming short film »Sonic Reverbs« (2021-) received the 2020 Xposed Short Film Fund Berlin.

Moderation:

Jesús Fernández de Castro (they/them) first studied acting at the European Theater Institute (ETI) and appeared in plays such as »Lili Marleen« by Roy Prinzessin (Munich) and co-directed performance pieces such as »Shame« and »Instinct« in collaboration with Marie Golüke (Munich/Berlin/Hamburg). Jesú's fascination with film led them to shift their focus away from theatre and more towards film, and began their first work as assistant directing and production. In 2020 Jesús produced the short film »Neon Azur« and made his directorial debut with »Eterno«. Since then, Jesús has worked with various short and feature film productions in the area of production and set manager. Jesus has been working as a junior producer for Kanakfilm Berlin since 2022.