SCREENING & PANEL-TALK - Afrofuturism and Black Hair
Filmhaus Köln Ticketshop
Talk: "Afrofuturism and Black Hair: Exploring Identity and Innovation in African Film”
Black hair and Afrofuturism are linked by their shared focus on identity, culture and self-determination within the African diaspora. Black hair has always been a symbol of resistance, pride and self-expression for people of African descent and often serves as a form of cultural and political resistance against Eurocentric beauty standards.
In the context of African cinema, the exploration of Black hair and Afrofuturism can be a powerful lens through which to examine issues of identity, representation and cultural heritage. By interweaving these themes, filmmakers can challenge mainstream narratives, celebrate the beauty and diversity of Black hair, and envision new possibilities for African and diasporic communities.
With Benita Bailey, Fatima M. York, J-JD, Prof. Dr. Natasha A. Kelly & Kokutekeleza Musebeni in attendance.
Moderation: Emilene Wopana Mudimu
Language: English
Guests
Benita Bailey is an actress, theatre & film maker and lecturer. She studied International Relations and African Studies at the University of Leipzig and in Hong Kong as well as acting in Berlin. She has worked for the UN in New York and for the German government in Beijing and Berlin. She is currently developing her first feature film and, since July 2020, the show #yellit on YT, in which she presents Black artists. In 2023, Bailey founded the black film production company JABESA Films with Jane Chirwa and is a board member of Schwarze Filmschaffende e.V.. She can currently be seen alongside Bastian Pastewka in the comedy "Alles Gelogen", which celebrated its TV premiere on 5 September 2024.
From Brooklyn to Atlanta to Berlin, Fatima York has opened multiple salons, educated fellow hairdressers and curl owners, and advocated for textured haircare and wellness. In her 28 year career, York attended two cosmetology schools – neither of which offered textured hair education. Fatima York has grasped the importance of curly hair education and is moving the conversations forward in Germany. Through her salon Natural Hair Berlin, the curly hair specialist and self love coach also offers outreach activities and workshops to share her valuable knowledge. One of her ongoing projects around advocating for natural hair is Crowns, a celebration and exploration of African hair art.
Prof Dr Natasha A. Kelly, born in 1973, is a visiting professor at the Berlin University of the Arts, author and editor, curator and visual artist. She works at the interface between science and art and questions Eurocentric concepts of knowledge, power and the body from a Black feminist, decolonial perspective. Her central concern is to strengthen Black perspectives in science and art; she is currently playing a leading role in the founding of an independent institute for Black German art, culture and its sciences. At this year's Africa Film Festival Cologne, she is offering dialogue workshops for young people.
Kokutekeleza Musebeni is a journalist, singer, presenter and filmmaker. Since 2014, she has been a presenter for the radio station Puls from Bayerischer Rundfunk. She also presents the BR formats Workin Germany and So geht Medien. In addition to her work as a presenter, Musebeni is also a radio writer for Bayern 2. She won the Willi Bleicher Award and the Coburg Media Award in 2020 for her Zündfunk radio feature Afroshops: Hair, Skin and Black German Entrepreneurship. Her Bayerischer Rundfunk documentary White Fragility: Why White People So Easily Overlook Racism was nominated for the CIVIS Media Prize in 2021. Her short film THE DOOR OF RETURN, a futuristic hybrid between documentary and science fiction, was released in 2021.
Born into an Angolan-Congolese family, he followed his vocation for music at an early age and performed at numerous singing competitions. Originally active as a songwriter and singer, he later discovered his passion for music production and founded the producer duo “OMG Whatabeat” with Wombeats in 2019. Despite his success as a producer, J-JD pursued the desire to make his own music. After a creative break, he began releasing his own songs again and travelled to the Congo to visually realise his artistic vision. In May 2024, he released his first official EP “Jericho”, which combines Amapiano and Afrobeat influences.
