Last week, LawTransform hosted several different panels in collaboration with BIFF. Scholars, activists, actors, and filmmakers joined us to discuss important contemporary issues. We would like to thank everyone who took the time to attend any of the panels. Revisit the BIFF X LawTransform week here.
Friday 16th of October – ‘The Secret Reading Club of Kabul’
Foto: Julie Sofie Svenkerud
The panel for the Secret Reading Club of Kabul gathered Torunn Wimpelman (CMI); one of the main protagonists of the movie originated in Afghanistan (anonymous protagonist); and Louise Louvet (LawTransform) to discuss the movie and the daily challenges faced by women under the Taliban autocratic regime. The combination of academic perspectives and the protagonist’s personal input offered a well-rounded understanding for the audience of Afghani women’s oppression and permanent feelings of fear and restrictions. The panel discussion revealed how entrenched the Taliban regime is, while addressing normative solutions for the audience to support Afghan women.
Saturday 17th of October – ‘The Long Cuban Night’ and ‘Rehearsals for a Revolution’
Foto: Julie Sofie Svenkerud
On the 17th of October, LawTransform hosted a panel conversation in collaboration with Bergen International Film Festival, Cuba Cambia, and Kunsthall 3,14. The panel drew on the documentaries ‘A Long Cuban Night’ and ‘Rehearsals for a Revolution’ and discussed the political repression faced in both Cuba and Iran.
The panel included Spanish-Cuban screenwriter and producer of ‘A Long Cuban Night’ Patricia Pérez; Associate Professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern History Peter Good (UiB); and debate editor Gitte Sætre (Kunsthall 3,14).
The panel discussed the history of revolutions in Iran, the current political and social situation in Cuba, and how we as an audience can build more solidarity with the people of Iran and Cuba.
Lastly, in discussion with the audience, we examined how US/EU embargoes have an effect on the local population and whether or not they are a useful political tool against authoritarian governments.
Thank you to BIFF, Cuba Cambia and Kunsthall 3,14 for the collaboration on the event.
Monday 19th of October – ‘Silenced’
Foto: Julie Sofie Svenkerud
The panel discussion “Silenced” gathered Lise Rakner (UiB), Sofia Rolim (research guest at LawTransform), Ragna Aarli (Law faculty) and Thomas Thomassen Haavardsholm (moderator and intern at LawTransform) to address how the defamation laws and lawsuits can be used to silence women who speak publicly about violence and abuse. The discussion shed light on women’s daily oppression, and how the law can impede the fight for equal rights.
Tuesday 20th of October – ‘Amazomania’
Foto: Julie Sofie Svenkerud
Ahead of BIFF’s screening of Amazomania, LawTransform hosted a panel conversation linked to the PluriLand project. PluriLand researchers Ana Carolina Alfinito Vieira and Rachel Sieder joined online, in a conversation moderated by Anine Lucia Manum
Ana Carolina opened by introducing the Korubo and Brazil’s shift in the late 1980s from a policy of contacting and integrating isolated Indigenous groups to one of respecting their choice to remain in isolation. Rachel then discussed what happens when Indigenous stories are told by outsiders, arguing that self-determination must be at the heart of any decolonial storytelling.
A central theme was the word “contact” itself. While it sounds neutral, the panellists showed how contact with isolated peoples has, for centuries, meant violence, disease and dispossession. The conversation also turned to the present: with Brazil’s presidential run-off between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro set for 25 October, the panellists warned of what a new rollback of Indigenous land rights could mean, both for Indigenous peoples and for the Amazon and the global climate. Finally, they discussed why legal protection alone is not enough, and how implementation depends on political commitment, broad coalitions and a growing generation of Indigenous lawyers.
Wednesday 21st of October – ‘The American Doctor’
Foto: Julie Sofie Svenkerud
BIFF showed several screenings of The American Doctor, and LawTransform hosted a breakfast seminar in the middle of these screenings. The conversation was moderated by Osama Shaheen, and was joined by Kjersti Gravelsæther Berg, Jonathan Douglas Mathers and Marthe Sleire Engedahl.
The seminar started with an overview over Palestine´s history prior to the 7th of October 2023. The conversation thereby shifted to a description of the situation today, and particularly the situation concerning the medical situation in Gaza and how hospitals no longer are able to preform as they should in face of a large population needing medical assistance. The bombings of hospitals are also discussed, as well as the blockade of medical equipment and medicines. Marthe brings up the presumption of protection and proportionality.
Thursday 22nd of October – ‘Everybody to Kenmure Street’; Master seminar
Foto: Julie Sofie Svenkerud
LawTransform invited master’s students from the GL-GOV, GOV and GLODE programmes at the University of Bergen to a screening of Everybody to Kenmure Street, followed by a panel discussion with researchers and legal experts. The panel consisted of Heidi Mogstad from CMI; Sofia Rolim, a PhD student, UiB and FGV; Jessica Schultz from CMI; and Candela Arias Perez, a PhD candidate, University of Seattle, moderating.
The panel focused on migration politics, community solidarity and civil disobedience. We talked about why people react so differently to immigration enforcement, with some coming together to protect their neighbours while others support stricter measures. We also looked at how cities can shape migration politics, how Glasgow’s colonial history connects to immigration policies today, and the role emotions play in bringing people together to protest.
After the panel, we ended the evening with pizza and a chance for students from the different programmes to get to know each other and continue the discussions in a more informal setting.