‘Halaqat Opening Festival’

The Arab world and Europe. Hearing the names of these two regions almost automatically evoke a wide and diverse range of thoughts, connotations or emotions. With Halaqat, we take up the challenge of exploring what these regions exactly stand for, and moreover, what the relationship and exchange between the two is about. The Halaqat opening festival marks the start of this year-long profound exploration.

Over the course of three evenings, the festival puts forward a diverse range of artists entering into dialogue among themselves and with the audience, allowing visitors to immerse in intriguing Euro-Arab cultural collaborations and unique exchanges. First up is music. The Halaqat Impro Session presents a musical encounter between 4 Arab and 2 European musicians who met for the first time just 5 days earlier. And how about cinema? Three recent thought-provoking documentaries from the Arab world cast a personal, surprising, innovative and emotional light on universally relevant topics. On the second film night, we make time for an in-depth discussion on the representation of the Arab world through the lens of cinema.

Discover the full programme below.

4 Dec.'21 - 19:00 - Halaqat Impro Session

6 Dec.'21 - 18:00 - School of Hope (Mohamed El Aboudi)

6 Dec.'21 - 21:00 - As I Want (Samaher Alqadi) + Meet the Director

7 Dec.'21 - 18:00 - Cinema Talk: How is the Arab world represented through its cinema?

7 Dec.'21 - 20:30 - Little Palestine (Diary of a Siege) (Abdallah Al-Khatib) + Meet the Director

مهرجان حلقات الافتتاحي

يُمثل مهرجان حلقات الافتتاحي بداية الاستكشاف العميق طوال هذا العام. و على مدار ثلاث أمسيات، يطرح المهرجان فاعلية تقوم على تبادل الحوار بين مجموعة متنوعة من الفنانين ومع الجمهور أيضًا، مما يسمح للزوار بالاستمتاع بتجربة الانغماس في أجواء التعاون الثقافي الأوروبي العربي المثير للاهتمام والتبادل الثقافي الفريد بينهما.