Shorts: Seahorses, Pussy-core and Queens

Event Information

We are opening up the world of music activism through a couple of hip-hop Queens and feminist musicians that will transcend a binary mind and both inspire and reflect upon questions of gender, race, sexuality and homophobia. Feminist hip-hop has its roots in black feminism and has always encountered and addressed issues of racism, sexism and heteronormativity. In feminist hop-hop intersectionality was practice long before it entered a broader field of critical ‘mainstream’ academia. This of course deserves recognition.

Its constantly expanding legacy is here portrayed by, famous German rapper Sookee, Philadelphian hip-hop artist Queen Jo and the pussy-core kitsch-hop group DONZELLE from Montréal. In addition the multi talented XXY [ɛks/ɛks/wʌɪ], coming from a background in jazz, will connect you with texts and works from several feminist thinkers as well as various artists as a way of exploring the feminine through an avant-garde approach – in which music just simply seem not to be enough…

Listen, enjoy and be inspired.

Films

Sookee – Of Seahorses and Closets / 2018 / Kerstin Polte / Germany / 34 min

“Sookee – Of Seahorses and Closets” is a multilayered and intimate portrait of Sookee, a famous queer-feminist Hip Hop Artist and left-wing activist in Germany. She fights against sexism, homophobia and racism – in german society and, especially, in german hip-hop for years now. Wether she’s putting on make-up, performing on big stages, giving lectures for students or at school, rapping at a lesbian wedding, cooking with her mother or writing lyrics in a berlin park – her life and thoughts revolve always around her message: Tolerance and love instead of discrimination and stereotyping . Honesty instead of arrogance. Diversity instead of binary thinking. Seahorses instead of closets.

XXY [ɛks/ɛks/wʌɪ] / 2018 / Clotilde Rullaud / France / 30 min

“I have dreamed that all these aspects of timeless, universal femininity will find a place in the tiniest corners of our retinas and ears, echoing the vibrant anima in each and every one of us.” Clotilde
XXY [ɛks/ɛks/wʌɪ] takes the form of seven portraits, involving seven films and seven original soundtracks, which combine to form a feminine archetype. Entitled Rhéa, Ruby, Juliette, Ishtar, Magda, Hannah, and Enk’aï, they embody in turn the child, the working woman, the mother, the artist, and the warrior woman, all heroines, both famous and anonymous.

Donzelle / 2018 / Marina Hufnagel / Germany, Canada / 20 min

DONZELLE is ‘pussy-core kitsch-hop, trilingual party rap’ from Montréal. With almost hurting sincerity Roxanne Arsenault raps about life, love, men. The group plays with clichés and body consciousness. Obviously, they are having fun on stage. But is society ready to change its outlook on the female body and feminism itself?

Hollaback / 2018 / Emilia Wieding / United States / 10 min

Ciarra Lambert aka Queen Jo is a multi-faceted hip-hop artist from Philadelphia, who has the courage to fight for women’s rights within the same scene that degrades them on a daily basis. She shares her views and opinions through the lyrics of her music and takes the battle against unequal judgment of women. In a very early stage of her life, she began to realize that society was treating girls differently. By the time she was in high school she started writing rap lyrics. Even though she was rejected from a label, saying her music is not ‚suitable‘ because it was feminist rap, she never gave up spreading her word. Hollaback shows Ciarra in her creative process combined with her activist mindset. It will follow her through the process of creating a song criticizing the way the hip-hop scene portrays women.

If you’re interested in stories about artists, we recommend you check out our screening of the feature film The Artist and the Pervert!