2019 – Special Guests

There are moments in art when something pierces right through you. I have tears in my eyes as I write this because I cannot believe someone who wrote something so beautiful as “The Origin of Love”, the epic ballad from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, is coming to my festival for our screening.

His prolific career includes heading up the music department and key member of the house band at the (in)famous New York club Squeezebox...did I mention we are also screening that documentary as well? He has scored dozens of films and was nominated for a Grammy for his work on Hedwig…but at the end of the day…he is just an awesome person. Rock musicals are in a genre all their own…and as much as I adore Rocky Horrorand Tommy…there is something just so much more personal with Hedwig…it has a sweet vulnerability and tenderness to it….so while rocking out tremendously… we are still reminded that angst comes from a sincere place. It takes a certain boldness to express feelings you know may very well be rejected by the world at large…but to do so anyways… well, that is just beautiful, in my mind. I believe there is a certain fear of sincerity in modern culture…we have to construct what we think people want from us on social media and this fear is apparent in current pop music and film…Trask’s work is sincere, and in the work I have done in the tenure of my career, that is the bottom line in how I judge the quality of a work of art and how it resonates within myself.
His work speaks from his heart…how do I know? Because I feel it in my own.

Please join us at several events where Mr. Trask will attend at our upcoming event in September!

With “It”, you win all men if you are a woman and all women if you are a man. It can be a quality of the mind as well as a physical attraction.

— Elinor Glyn (1927)

Well what happens if you are a “trap”? In today’s gender bending atmosphere it seems there is a different word describing new identities every day. It is often hard to keep up. But I would contend that if one has the “It” factor…it transcends gender, generation and societal norms. Tatiana Pirogova has definitely got the “It” factor and we are delighted that he is coming to our festival to participate on our “Constructed Identities” panel. His You Tube content is British-ly sarcastic and very “meta”, commenting on the fallacies of online culture while simultaneously engaging in creating an online community. Visit (and subscribe!) his You Tube channel for a dose of comedic flair and that ” je ne sais quoi”…and visit our panel September 6th at Het Ketelhuis (Time TBD) for enlightening and amusing discussion concerning this vast frontier of Cyber Identity. Just who is this fascinating creature behind the mask?

You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA6sbyTr_jpTKqqKuaTi_SA

Tatiana on Tatiana:

Tatiana Pirogova is obviously beautiful and talented, but that goes without saying… Only having started in October of last year Tatiana, had gained an audience of over 30,000 (as of this writing) who come to watch diverse content from videos on Multi Level Marketing scams to creepy PM reddit readings and Tinder proposals written by clueless weirdoes who have no idea how to communicate with women. She writes and edits all of her own material, making her a true renaissance woman. As if it can’t get any better…she’s got a black belt in karate, undoubtedly adding to her feminine mystique….

Independent, strong, beautiful, she’d be the perfect woman if she wasn’t a he, wearing a dress and a wig.

Twitch Partner, TV & stage host.
Musician, Gamer, Content creator and pun enthusiast.
Head of streamer program at Movember

I started streaming on Twitch at a time of grief, depression and escapism when I was 20. From the most horrible moment in my life grew something beautiful. My channel has grown into a full time job for almost six years now but not only that, it has grown into a supportive community that is honest with each other, care about each other, and above all, has fun together. It went beyond what I do, and became more about what we can do together to forget about life for a bit. I love that I can put a smile on people’s face, and in return, when I go live in a bad mood my community never fails to turn my day around too. From my channel and adventures on Twitch I have gained opportunities I would’ve never imagined. I’ve done a Ted talk, travelled around the world and have now started working for a charity called Movember heading up their global streamer program. I do what I love, and although it’s risky making your hobby a job, and it adds pressure to being creative, I wouldn’t have changed a thing about that decision. I feel fortunate to be able to make an impact on other people’s mood on a daily basis!

Constructed Identity Panel
September 7th 3:00 PM
Het Ketelhuis

I am a third-year PhD student in Sociology at the University of Manchester, UK. I first became a fan more than 20 years ago, when I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the first time. I have been a fan and popular culture aficionado ever since. During my MA studies in Sociology and Anthropology I decide to merry both of my passions – sociology and fandom, and become a fandom scholar. My MA research focused on de-stigmatization strategies among Harry Potter and Twilight female fans, in which I explored the particular on-going stigma and ridicule against female fans. My current PhD research scrutinizes how women negotiate between their identities as feminists and science fiction fans (Doctor Who and Star Wars, in particular). I am particularly interested in how women construct their identities as fans and feminists and assess the “authenticity” of their identities, especially when the fandom they are associated with includes problematic gender representations and is traditionally considered male-centered.

Zübeyde Bulut was born in 1986 in Besiri Turkey. In 1989 the Bulut family fled their home moving to northern Germany due to their Jesidi belief and political views. After receiving her degree in drama from a well respected Berlin acting academy Zübeyde embarked on her acting career playing in many theater plays and short films before landing the role of LAMIA in the Eva Husson feature film GIRLS OF THE SUN nominated last year at the Cannes International Film Festival for best picture. Since then Zübeyde has shot in two other feature films; ATLAS/The Mover which has been nominated and won many prizes in Germany and the UK as well as in the more recently FRIENDLY FIRE playing in her first leading role in a feature film (to be released later this year). On the “small” screen Zübeyde shot this year in the soon to be seen new Belgian series BLACK OUT directed by Joel Vanhoebrouck. At the moment she is shooting in her third feature film in Poland in the Polish language.

Zübeyde is an avid swimmer, she speaks German and Kurdish as native speaker and fluent English and Spanish.

Although I consider myself as a citizen of the world and love to live in a pluralistic and multicultural society, but the reality for me is very different to be a Kurd in this day-and-age, where my identity, cultural rights and language are constantly under threats from neighboring countries, countries that are occupying the land of my ancestors which is been inhabited by the Kurds for thousands of years.

Since my childhood art and storytelling, in particular cinema, is always been the passion of my life to indulge in a phantasy world where I can be truly the soul who can cross times, places, borders, countries and meet people across the world without any boundaries or justifications. My endeavor is to tell stories that I am passionate about it and to tackle social, political and psychological issues of my people within a global understanding and awareness of other cultures.

While Steve is definitely part of the entourage, we want to make sure people know how excited we are that he is returning to curate another awesome experimental program for us. Watch this space for when and where that will be!

Steve Armor is a film and AV installation curator specializing in abstract, exploratory, and fine-art cinematic experiences. As founder and director of AFX (Amsterdam Film eXperience, established 2006) with its tagline ‘Breaking Out of the Frame’, he has given a platform for revolutionary work; encompassing the visceral, art, noise, static, drone, atmosphere, music videos, exploratory art of cinema, live cinema performance, installations, VJ’s, new technologies and techniques.

AFX was a full-scale film and art festival in 2006 and 2007 in Amsterdam, and currently Steve Armor provides the service of specialized programming in partner festivals such as Manifesto (Amsterdam), Festival International Signes de Nuit (Paris), European Media Arts Festival (Osnabrük), Cork Film Festival, and Alternativa Independent Film Festival (Barcelona).

Sara T. Gama is an American of Arab heritage who was born in Beirut, Lebanon and has lived in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. As a teenager she was schooled primarily in America and England, and then based herself in the Washington D.C. area after graduating high school.

After working as a D.J. in the Washington D.C. alternative music scene, and an assistant manager at a local punk rock clothing boutique, Sara worked in event management before a chance day as an extra on a local film shoot sent her off on a path studying filmmaking. Sara graduated Magna Cum Laude from American University in Washington D.C. with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Visual Media and a minor in Art History. She also earned a Postgraduate Diploma in 16mm and 35mm Filmmaking from the London Film School, and a Master of Arts in Film and Video from American University.

Sara’s thesis film Drive about a Muslim-American teenage punk has screened at film festivals in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Rome, Italy. Filmed in partial fulfillment of her Master’s degree, Sara wrote, directed and co-produced the short film set in the Washington D.C. area. In addition to being a screenwriter and narrative filmmaker, Sara writes poetry and is a Fine Arts photographer. She is currently directing a short documentary about the graffiti artist Miss Chelove for the Muslim Women In Media Training Institute.

On the occasion of the passing of the great actor Rutger Hauer, Sara would like to acknowledge not just his signature role as the replicant Roy Batty in Ridley’s Scott’s Bladerunner – but also his role as Captain Navarre in Ladyhawke, one of the best fantasy films ever made. Safe home Rutger Hauer.