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Migration, Memory, and the Art of Storytelling on Film

Updated: Apr 25

An Online Lecture Series by ICC Sophia University and the Free university of Berlin

Hosted by Megha Wadhwa & David H. Slater  



This lecture series provides a chance to delve into the complex fabric of human migration and memory through the lens of film. Renowned directors and storytellers will discuss the art of filmmaking as a unique medium for narrating the complex experiences of displacement, longing, and identity. During each talk we will screen a film or section of film as the basis of our discussion. By watching films, participating in discussions, and hearing the directors' perspectives, attendees will gain a deeper appreciation of how film serves as a conduit for preserving and sharing the nuanced narratives of migration and the indelible imprints of memory. 


All the lectures will be on Zoom. 

Please register from here (or from the QR code below) :  https://forms.office.com/r/YRfdXeybLt


  • Sanderien Verstappen, Social and Visual Anthropologist (University of Vienna) screening & discussing her film ‘Living like a Common Man’ directed by Sanderien Verstappen, Mario Rutten and Isabelle Makay,   12 June 2024, 18:00 to 20:00 (JST)/ 11:00 to 13:00 (CEST) 

  • Martha-Cecilia Dietrich, Anthropologist, Filmmaker, Curator (University of Amsterdam) screening & discussing her film ‘Between Memories’. 16 July 2024, 18:00 to 20:00 (JST)/ 11:00 to 13:00 (CEST) 

  • Laura Liverani, Documentary Photographer and Filmmaker screening & Discussing her film ‘Ainupuri’ co-created by Laura Liverani and Kanako Uzawa.  13 August 2024, 18:00 to 20:00 (JST)/ 11:00 to 13:00 (CEST) 

  • Zakaria Mohamed Ali, Journalist, Documentary Filmmaker (Vice-president at Archive of Migrant Memories) screening & discussing his film ‘To whom it may concern’. 17 September 2024, 18:00 to 20:00 (JST)/ 11:00 to 13:00 (CEST) 

  • Megha Wadhwa, Anthropologist, Filmmaker and Writer (Free University of Berlin), screening & discussing her film ‘Finding their niche: Unheard stories of migrant women’. 22 October 2024, 18:00 to 20:00 (JST)/ 11:00 to 13:00 (CEST) 

  • Özgür Çiçek, Media and Culture Studies (University of Amsterdam), discussing her work migrant cinemas, memory studies, and documentary filmmaking. 12 November 2024, 19:00 to 21:00 (JST)/ 11:00 to 13:00 (CET)


This project is a part of BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research Germany) funded project – Qualification and Skill in the Migration Process of Foreign Workers in Asia and supported by Free University of Berlin, Goethe University Frankfurt and the ICC Collaborative Research Unit “Visual Studies and Displacement in/to Japan”, a Joint Research Unit between Institute of Comparative Culture of Sophia University Japan and Free University of Berlin. 



Lecture Series Flyer Downdload from HERE.

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