Heritage is the most valuable of inheritances; it is a marker of personal, familial, and cultural identity, as well as a means for connection and community-building. This programme explores resilience where an aspect of heritage is withheld. In these selected films this is demonstrated through language and nature and is overcome with an inspiring strength.

We do not witness any physical violence; however, its absence and palpably emotional recollections demonstrate the force of intergenerational traumas. Warm relationships and humorous interactions are a key part of what makes these films so moving and allow a topic of injustice to be approached with sensitivity, while these human stories are accessible to all.

Most importantly, the insistence of each generation to claim practices innate to their lineage demonstrates that the healing and continuation of long-nurtured knowledge and legacies remains possible.

The screening is accompanied by a specially commissioned zine exploring the themes of the films. There will be 25 of these available through sign-up (coming soon), this is limited to UK address only.

Zainab Ashraf, Curate-It Fellow 2023

How to watch

These events will be available to view for free online for 72 hours via the Curate-It VoD platform. They will be available in the UK only. The films have closed captions.

Films will be available to view from 19:00 on the first day to 19:00 on the last day. If you begin to view the film on or slightly before 19:00 on the last day of viewing, you will be able to watch it continuously through.

Films in running order (79 min):

My Name Is Anik Bircan Birol / United Kingdom, Scotland / 2019 / 15 min / Turkish and Kurdish with English subtitles, and closed captions

Bircan must learn her mother tongue in order to inherit it from grandmother Anik. She fears Anik may be forgetting it, but the process of reclaiming the native language her community has been persecuted for unlocks painful memories. Alongside the tangible cross-generational hurt for the injustices faced, Anik’s deep longing for her home persists too. The love and warmth of the pair’s relationship carries them through their journey to ensuring their legacy and heritage lives on.

Foragers Jumana Manna / Palestine / 2022 / 64 min / Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles, and closed captions

For generations Palestinians have gathered wild edibles such as za’atar (wild oregano) and ‘akkoub (a thistle-like plant) to use in their cooking. However, this centuries old tradition has been disrupted by an Israeli law banning the foraging of these edible wild plants in the name of conservation.

In Foragers director Jumana Manna offers a poetic meditation, combining archive footage, documentary, and fiction to tenderly highlight the absurdity resulting from criminalising the indigenous practice of foraging. It shows the resilience of the Palestinians who continue to forage regardless, risking hefty fines and prison sentences, all in the name of protecting their connection to the land and heritage.