Building Democracy’s caravan at the suburb of Vollsmose, Odense, Denmark, 2009.

Building Democracy

2009, collaborative traveling film project with lasse Lau & Lise Skou

Building Democracy’s focus was on migration and marginalization of cultural producers coming from a non-Western sphere. The project was realized by visiting different suburbs around Europe using a caravan as a working studio. The interest here was to explore the sphere between migration and housing policies where ghettos, ‘new ethnicities’, UN refugee systems and globalization overlap.

The projects took place as a relay race for almost one month. We asked the first cultural producer to direct a short film, and then to send us through his or her personal network to the next place somewhere in Europe to find our next director. The suburb of Vollsmose in Denmark, the project’s starting point, was the only pre-planned destination throughout the project, then through the different director’s networks the traveling studio’s route was mapped.

Storkene

First short film

Director: Jamal Amin

Location: The suburb Vollsmose at the outskirts of Odense, Denmark.

Publication Date: June 20 2009

Werkvergever Gezocht

Second short film

Director: Siad Mohamoud Ali

Location: The suburb at the outskirts of Eindhoven. City Centre of Eindhoven.

Publication Date: June 28 2009

Mon Clichy sous Bois

Third short film

Director: Sutio Marna

Location: The suburb Clichy sous Bois, Paris, France.

Publication Date: July 04 2009

During the travel, the caravan functioned as our home, transportation, working space, film studio and platform for meetings and exchanges with the different people involved and those who were passing by. As well as producing shorts, we filmed a documentary that portrays the people we encounter on our journey. In addition, we conducted three interviews with the directors after they finished their films. These were shown in conjunction with the rest of the exhibition.

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