Berlin Stories

Call for Court Trial Support: “From the River to the Sea”  

The slogan “From the river to the sea” was previously prosecuted in Germany under the “use of unconstitutional symbols,” which subjects individuals to local court trials. Recently, the German state has accused a protester who used the slogan of “distribution of propaganda material of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations”, to be handled at state court under the framing of terrorist propaganda. If this case is appealed, it will be heard in federal court, where negative decisions can be used in all future cases related to the slogan. This case represents the ongoing attempts to criminalise “From the River to the Sea”. 

On 31 October, a team of lawyers experienced with the Palestine solidarity context in Germany will be present at the court case and call for trial support. Stand in solidarity with the legal team in court at 9:00 this Friday at Amtsgericht Tiergarten, and stop the criminalisation of “From the River to the Sea”. More info here. 

Standing with Sudan demo

On Friday, 31 October, 15:00–17:00, gather in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Berlin, to stand in solidarity with the people of Al-Fasher, Darfur, who are facing extreme violence and displacement. Since the beginning of the Sudan Conflict, over 11 million people have been displaced. El-Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state, has already been under siege for over 500 days. Organised by The Salam Sudan Campaign, a Berlin-based network of Sudanese initiatives advocating for peace, justice, and human rights in Sudan, Sudanese in Berlin and allies demand an end to the siege on Al-Fasher, accountability for those responsible, and protection for civilians with humanitarian access. Bring your banners, comfortable clothing, and presence, and stay safe. More info here. 

ADIRA Drag Festival 

From 12–14 November, ADIRA Party presents the second edition of ADIRA Drag Festival at Festsaal Kreuzberg and Barazani, bringing together over 30 artists from Arabic-speaking regions across Europe for three days of workshops, performances, and DJ sets. What began as a Berlin pop-party series has grown into a thriving community space for queer Arabs and allies: a space to create, dance, and celebrate the richness of queer Arab culture. Last year's edition marked the first-ever Arabic Drag festival. This year’s theme, Queer Arab Futurism*, is imagined as “a love letter to our future selves, dreaming of a world where borders dissolve, legacy is redefined, astrology takes the place of authority, and pop divas honour the queers and girlies who came before them”. Grab your tickets here! More info here. 

Unframe Festival 

From 31 October to 02 November, Unframe Festival will take place at bUm Berlin. The festival features a series of panel discussions, workshops, film screenings, music, and more, centred on socialist ideas and culture. Panel talks include discussions with guests like Yasemin Acar, part of the organising committee of Freedom Flotilla on practices of resistance, Sinthujan Varatharajah and Hebh Jamal on Solidarity and the Politics of Liberation, and more. Unframe has invited a diverse group of speakers, each bringing their own diverse areas of expertise, encouraging a weekend of contemplation, reflection, and dialogue in these turbulent times. Across the topics, the festival makes accessible deepening understandings on the various socio-political happenings the world is currently facing. Film screenings, organised by The Left Berlin Film Club, Viva Palestina, and The Dockworkers, will also take place, highlighting narratives of Palestine, Sudan, and Congo. As well, Saturday evening features an afterparty put on by the AL.Berlin crew. See the complete programme here. More info here. 

K-Fetisch Soli-Kufa fundraiser to support protestors

K-Fetisch’s Soli KüFa return on 05 November, this time raising funds for the Demos Support Team in Berlin. This organisation has been supporting protestors, especially those Palestinian and Gazan, since 2024 with legal and medical aid. Specifically, funds raised will contribute to transportation for protestors to and from hospitals, making legal appointments, and other legal fees to aid in combating political violence faced in Germany, such as deportations. Tickets are on a sliding scale of 8-15 euros, with a vegan menu of Arabic-inspired cuisine. Come by from 18:30 onward. More info here. 

Indie Chinese Cinema Week

Cliens Berlin presents the fourth edition of Indie Chinese Cinema week across 3 days, from 6-9 November. This year’s programme features three feature-length films, 15 shorts, and community events with the overall theme Rewriting the Frame: Cinema as Language, Action, and Future. With limited censorship policies in the Chinese Art World, Indie Chinese Cinema Week creates space to diversify the homogenising art world in China, bringing alternative narratives, mediums, and voices in Chinese cinema to international audiences. Following the screenings, ICCW encourages this dialogue by inviting researchers and filmmakers to discuss their experiences, thought processes, and more in post-screening discussions. As well, performance artist and choreographer Po-Nien Wang will run a movement and dance workshop exploring gender fluidity through both contemporary dance, Tai-chi, and ancient Chinese Poetry , inviting participants to explore presence, balance, and movement as tools to reimagine identity. As well, ICCW will commence with an opening party at Giri on 5 November in collaboration with Jiā La, a Berlin-based collective centring Asian and Diasporic music and art. The lineup includes live acts exploring Chinese Ink traditions and more by Senaida and Jianyu, and DJ sets from 20:00. More info here. 

The Berliner Strike 

The Berliner Magazine, one of the most prominent publications on Berlin culture and society, continues to reduce its coverage of Palestine. Recently, the Berliner has accepted an ad campaign for the Nova Festival, a government-funded exhibition at the Tempelhof Airport, commemorating 378 Israeli casualties on October 7, while failing to account for the 65,000+ murdered Palestinians. By this, the exhibition uses selective empathy as war propaganda, perpetuating false narratives on the Israel-Palestine conflict. By these ads, the Berliner violates its allegedly ‘neutral’ stance on the ongoing genocide in Palestine. As one of the major English-language magazines that cover Berlin culture, refusing to cover candid conversations for major global conflicts, such as that of Palestine, contributes to the perpetuation of dominant political narratives both in Berlin and worldwide. Especially considering the rise of far-right movements and ongoing repressions for free speech in Germany, the value of free independent media is more critical than ever. Show support for the Berliner Strike by signing the petition. More info here. 

Daddy Magazine Launch 

Come down to Refuge Niemenstrasse 1 on 11 November for Daddy Magazine’s launch of POWER Issue. The evening will be hosted by Zeynep Dilek, with reflections from the Daddy Mag founders and team. Alongside, readings will be presented by Berlin-based writer Celina Baljeet Basra and Bayode Adafin from Love Deluxe. To end the night, R&B artist NADA will showcase a live set before a sneak peek of STILLLIEBEN, Emmanuel Amoako-Jansen’s debut film, and a DJ set by DC DREA. Come hang out and support the launch of Daddy Mag with some good talks and tunes. RSVP here. 

Palestine Cinema Days 

On 02 November, Palestine Cinema Days around the world, a day of international solidarity showcasing over 500 Palestinian Films, screened across the globe. In Berlin, ALFilms, Rawry Films, and Palinale teamed up to screen five films at various kinos. Features include A State of Passion by Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi, a documentary that tells the story of a war surgeon in Gaza in search of justice; Upshot by Maha Haj, a short film that has won multiple awards for its intimate accounts of the realities of war; and more. All screenings part of Palestine Cinema days are entirely free, and all venues are wheelchair accessible. More info here. 

The Berlin Conference: Anti-Colonial Workshops

Commencing on 15 November, the Berlin Conference is a monthly online workshop facilitated by Grief and Trauma Educator Tobi Aye. Created as a space for Africans and African descendants, the series invites collective reflection and resistance against centuries of colonial domination by European powers over Africa. Drawing inspiration from the Berlin Conference of 1884, where fourteen Western nations—including Germany, France, and the United Kingdom—met to decide the continent’s fate without a single African representative, the workshop confronts the ongoing repression of African cultures, identities, and ancestral practices. Through storytelling, song, ritual, and collective grief work, participants are guided to remember, reclaim, and reweave ancestral sovereignty and belonging across the borders imposed by colonial histories. Find more information on the free workshop here.

Radical sticker publishing workshop 

Use art as a protest by attending the Radical sticker publishing Workshop on the 4 and 5 November. From 10:00–17:00, join Matt Plezier and Moritz Grünke for a hands-on two-day workshop exploring stickers as tools for protest and creative expression. Stickers, though small, are powerful: cheap ways to stick to almost anything in public spaces —walls, windows, and streets. Being accessible and eye-catching by nature, they hold quick information that can reclaim public spaces and contribute to cultural discourse. The workshop begins with a Sticker Manifesto and a showcase of inspiring collections, then moves into Risograph printing, where participants can experiment with overprinting to produce radical stickers of their own design. Participants will also have the opportunity to explore the sticker archive at Riso studio for inspiration. Day two focuses on sticker-making with analogue techniques, dry transfer, and cut’n’stick methods. At the end of the workshop, participants can take home a sticker stack featuring all the creations from the workshop. More info here. 

Photos courtesy of Mayer Attia and Jaime Musso.