Ajabu Ajabu is a multimedia curatorial collective based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Through a variety of participatory, open-ended approaches, they explore decentralized and communal forms of presentation, production and preservation of audiovisual art forms. They work towards engaging, documenting and reinforcing subcultures responding to monolithic and exclusionary global media frameworks.

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Cinémathèque de Tanger is an alternative center for film conservation and circulation based in Tangier, in Morocco. Created in 2007 at the instigation of Yto Barrada, it is committed to promoting film heritage and production, through the collection of feature films, documentaries and experimental films, contributing to enriching its unique collection and preserving a collective memory of cinema.

Resolutely open to the world, Cinémathèque de Tanger has been an intercultural space for over 10 years screening Moroccan and international productions, and offering a vibrant programmation for travelers, artists, movie-goers, and curious minds. In that perspective, Cinémathèque de Tanger is dedicated to its strong audience policies tailored for youths and purposefully anchored with local associations and cultural initiatives.

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Established in 1952, Kino Lumbardhi is located in the historic center of Prizren. It was saved from demolition and privatization after two civil initiatives in 2007 and 2014. Serving as the birthplace and home to the DokuFest International Documentary and Short Film Festival since 2002, it was granted permanent protection as a cultural heritage site due to its significance for collective memory.

Since 2015, the cinema has been managed by the Lumbardhi Foundation, a non-profit organization formed by representatives of the initiatives. Through action and research-based processes, the Foundation, along with its partners and collaborators, has activated the dilapidated space and revitalized the cinema through grassroots efforts. With active public programming, participatory planning of its functions, valorisation of heritage qualities, emergency measures, physical interventions and advocacy at both local and national levels, this community has imagined, tested and made possible its sustainable future use. Following a decade of consistent efforts by the initiative, the cinema is set to undergo comprehensive restoration starting in the fall of 2024 and become fully functional by 2026.

As the first multi-purpose cultural space in Prizren offering year-round programs, Kino Lumbardhi already hosts the programs of the Foundation and hundreds of other users, including film screenings, concerts, performing arts, exhibitions, debates and community gatherings. The Foundation is also active beyond the space, engaging in activities such as archive building, research, publishing and advocacy initiatives focusing on cultural spaces, cinemas and independent cultural organizations in Prizren, Kosovo and Southeastern Europe.

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The Metropolis Cinema Association is dedicated to promoting independent cinema in Lebanon and the MENA region through a diverse program offering, industry training, engaging young audiences, and preserving film heritage to facilitate access to alternative films at the local and regional levels. We envision a Lebanon where independent films are accessible to all, where youth are open and receptive to the diversity of cinema, and where Lebanon’s rich film heritage continues to be explored, archived, and disseminated. Metropolis and the Cinematheque Beirut, focusing on research and archives, aim to bring together professionals, students, local and international journalists and researchers, as well as film enthusiasts from various fields in an environment conducive to the creation and study of cinema.

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Salaam Cinema is a community-based cinema and arts temple run by a team of artists and creatives. By occupying a former Molokan temple, Salaam aims to create social awareness, reclaim urban space for free cultural expression, and build bridges between different communities. Salaam is more than just a community project; it serves as a safe space for isolated individuals, nurturing an environment for personal development through a collective approach. Salaam supports local artists and encourages community collaboration by building and sharing collective knowledge through informal education and experimental processes. It also offers a cultural program with a focus on the region.

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SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA is a cinema experiment underpinned by an understanding of cinema as a space of social discourse, exchange and solidarity. Initially launched in 2020 at Haus der Statistik on Alexanderplatz, at its new location in Berlin-Wedding, SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA has established itself as a transnational space for film culture, art, knowledge and community, creating a bridge between urban space and film as cultural practice. Here a place is created where urbanity and transnationalism coexist, a place that enables access, stimulates discussion, educates, moves, provokes and encourages.

“Transtopia” is the term used by migration researcher Erol Yıldız to describe spaces “where transnational ties and connections converge, are reinterpreted, and condense into everyday contexts.” Following on from this, SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA links geographies both near and far, taking into consideration their narratives, pasts, presents and futures. Cinema here becomes a meeting place where people come together not only to witness film, but to experience a space of lively discourse, of living, working and learning together. SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA thus stands for a cinema that sees itself as a social place simultaneously committed to local and international communities, one that regards film-historical work as the work of cultural remembrance and that is dedicated to a diversity of film culture and film art.

SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA is a project initiated by the organisation bi’bak.

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Yennenga Centre is a hub dedicated to film education, creation, and film programming. Based in Dakar, Senegal, it has three main objectives. Firstly, it aims to train a new generation of cinema technicians through a two-year post-production program. This training covers editing, color grading, sound editing, and mixing.

Secondly, Yennenga Centre presents films that explore social issues, followed by Q&A sessions aimed at a diverse audience, with special emphasis on the younger generation, in order to utilize cinema for educational goals. Lastly, it supports African film production by providing internationally recognized post-production facilities, reducing production costs, and promoting local co-productions.

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