Bijlmerbundel
The following project is for people who write in Dutch. For an English translation of what it’s about, please scroll down.
Bijlmerbundel
Van eind maart tot begin juni werken Bijlmer Bookstore, Buttenbley Publishing en ondergetekende aan de eerste editie van de Bijlmerbundel. Deze bundel zal bestaan uit een verzameling korte fictieverhalen die zich, vanuit verschillende genres, in de Bijlmer afspelen. Voor hun mix van social thrillers, romantiek en Afrofuturism zijn de dames op zoek naar zes schrijvers die in de Bijlmer leven*.
Het schrijfproces zal deels bestaan uit vier workshops met de schrijversgroep. Daarnaast zullen de deelnemers in hun eigen tijd momenten creëren om aan hun bijdrages te werken.
Schrijfworkshops
– Za. 30 maart van 13.00u-14.30u, op locatie. Door: Kelechi Okafor.
– Di. 16 april, 19.30u-21.00u, online.
– Di. 14 mei, 19.30u-21.00u, op locatie.
– Di. 28 mei, 19.30u-21.00u, online.
Aanmelden
Aanmelden voor de schrijversgroep kan t/m do. 28 maart, 15.00 uur via buttenbleypublishing@gmail.com. Vrij. 29 maart ontvangt iedereen die zich heeft aangemeld een e-mail om te laten weten of ze geselecteerd zijn voor de schrijversgroep.
De korte verhalen
Aantal woorden: 2.500-5.000 woorden
Deadline kort verhaal: vrij. 7 juni.
* Vanwege de impact van gentrificatie op de keuzes en wensen om in de Bijlmer te blijven wonen, kiezen de initiatiefnemers voor ‘leven’ in plaats van ‘wonen’.
English
Bijlmerbundel (Bijlmer volume)
From late March to the beginning of June, Bijlmer Bookstore, Buttenbley Publishing and yours truly are working on the first edition of the Bijlmerbundel. This collection will consist of a collection of short stories from different genres set in the Bijlmer. For their mix of social thrillers, romance and Afrofuturism, the ladies are looking for six writers whose lives are set in the Bijlmer*.
Due to the impact of gentrification on the choices and wishes to continue living in the Bijlmer, the initiators opt for people whose “lives are set in the Bijlmer” instead of ‘those who reside in the Bijlmer’.
Banel & Adama, HipHopHuis, Gember & Rooibos
Banel & Adama
“A new generation of film makers, strong-willed and with a superb mastery of technics is born. A relief troop.”
– Sembène Ousmane in ‘Cinema as evening school’, his preface in L’Afrique et le Centenaire du Cinema/Africa and the Centenary of Cinema.
Banel & Adama is a stereotype-free, stroll-paced unfolding of a love story disrupted by expectations. Its scenery centres around the steadiness of traditions and the rush of tragedies accelerated by capitalism. Or, more specifically: gender norms and the climate crisis. As an heir to Djibril Diop Mambèty’s infamous remixing of cinema’s grammar, director Ramata-Toulaye Sy masterfully takes us from a honey-sweet lovin’ to a magic-realist sobering.
Khady Mane, who plays Banel, is captivating in her portrayal of a new bride who’s trying her best to preserve a dream that’s close to being reality-checked to a halt. Mamadou Diallo is ever so gracious in his portrayal of Adama, a young husband figuring out how to not just carry but properly balance the inherited into its future.
Since attending its première at this year’s edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s masterpiece has been on my mind. With its gorgeous cinematography plus its perfectly scored moments of quiet and consideration, Banel & Adama gives us the Tonimorrison-esque narration that matches our imagination. Truly, a relief.
HipHopHuis + Gember &… Rooibos – episode 1 of 7.
On Saturday March 9 (15.00h-17.00h), Adrian Van Wyk and I will join the Rotterdam fam for a conversation about the short documentary What the Soil Remembers. We’ll do so as part of the first HipHopHuis-based edition of the GembertheeSessies (Ginger tea sessions), co-hosted by HipHopHuis and Bijlmer Parktheater. HipHopHuis has been a home for a good 20 years. Their interest in co-hosting a GembertheeSessies is an absolute honour. Tickets for this gathering can be bought via this link.
After this event, Van Wyk and I will move our conversation back to my sofa and dinner table. From there, we’ll edit chunks of it into episode one of a 7-part podcast series: Gember &… . Episode 1 -Gember & Rooibos- will centre around the following:
– The Kitchen (film)
– Banel & Adama (film)
– The Mother of All Lies (film)
– Rye Lane (film)
– Cécile McLorin Salvant’s concert in Brussel
– The concert of the Asher Gamedze Quartet in Rotterdam
IFFR
Being part of the IFFR press crew this year was great. I was honoured and overjoyed to be part of a festival that’s so dear to me. Special mention to Lyse Ishimwe. (blows dancehall airhorn)
Picture 1: Still from Banel & Adama.
Picture 2: Still from the videoclip for Asher Gamedze‘s Wynter Time
laZeefuik 
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