Session II: Bridging Spaces

Moderated by Selma Schenkel & Eva Frutig

Bridging Spaces explores the fluidity of identity, memory, and belonging across cultures and generations. Through three different films, we navigate personal and collective histories, witnessing journeys of return, remembrance, and reconciliation. Each story acts as a bridge, linking past and present, silence and expression, roots and movement, self and ancestry or society. They invite us to reflect on the invisible threads that link places, people, and pasts.

I Feel Your Silence (17 min)

Germany, Netherlands, 2023, German, English / English sub.
Directed by Laura Heinig

Every sentence about Grandma is like a loss. She didn’t talk much – certainly not about what moved her. It is only after her death that I’ve used this film to search into how war and violence affect relationships and create silence. In everyday life, in the household and in the family. A tender portrait that takes us back to that time, which still resonates with us today.

‘I Feel Your Silence is an impressive example of autoethnographic filmmaking, blending personal and historical dimensions. The film becomes a search for untold stories, guided by conversations between the filmmaker and her mother. Through a hybrid mix of documentary, fictional reenactments, and archival material, a space that confronts transgenerational trauma’ is created – Selma Liv Schenkel.

Laura Heinig has a background in Cultural Studies and Anthropology, which she studied in Frankfurt (Oder), Santiago de Chile and the Netherlands. Since 2019, she has been part of the documentary directing class at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.

Content warning: intergenerational trauma, war, domestic violence.

Radj: On Roots and Rooting (30 min)

Netherlands, Suriname, 2024, Dutch / English sub.
Directed by Nadine Haselier

In 1975, 28-year-old Radjkoemarie left Suriname for the Netherlands to build a new home and a better life for her young family. Two generations later, granddaughter Nadine explores her Indo-Surinamese roots, based on the story of her Nani. What can Radj’s journey tell us about the meaning of home and planting new roots in foreign soil? And what does it mean to have roots in multiple places?

Through a series of interviews, archival research and tracing her family tree together with Nani, the film explores a collaborative approach to decolonizing (visual) representations of the Indo-Surinamese community.

‘Radj: On Roots & Rooting  invites the audience to reflect on origin, belonging, and the intersections of identity, migration, and environment. The film’s poetic and contemplative storytelling, combined with its profound themes, offers an intellectually and emotionally engaging experience’ – Eva Frutig.

Nadine Haselier is a Visual Ethnographer and Director of Photography based in Amsterdam. Born in New Zealand to German and Surinamese parents, she approaches her work with an international yet local mindset.

Lullaby of Waves (15 min)

India, 2023, Assamese / English sub.
Directed by Ayon Pratim Saikia

A 53-year-old woman with 26 years of marriage and 25 years of motherhood reflects on her life. The director’s focus is on his mother who, in pursuit of employment, journeyed to the place of her child’s birth, crossing the river Brahmaputra. Her life took an unexpected turn in the remote land of Sadiya, a region divided and detached from the rest of Assam. This area can only be accessed by crossing the Brahmaputra River, marking the beginning of Assam and a tip that was never connected to the mainland.

The film unfolds as a poignant exploration of the filmmakers’ journey towards understanding and accepting the profound sense of belonging tied to space and time. Delving into the search for identity through his mother’s voice, the narrative reveals the events that have shaped, and will continue to shape, the future.

‘The essay filmLullaby of Waves takes us on an experimental and poetic journey across the Brahmaputra River into the northeastern region of Assam, India.  The filmmaker uses the Brahmaputra River as a recurring symbol of geographical and emotional spaces. The film is not only a sensitive exploration of family history, but also a timeless work about the search for home, belonging, and identity’ – Lena Oberholzer.

Ayon Pratim Saikia is a filmmaking student currently pursuing a Master’s in Design at NID Ahmedabad. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Tezpur Central University, Assam.