BIPOC shorts – Deep touches

On June 18th, Squish returns at WORM with a new edition of our movie screening series. This time, the focus is on a thoughtful selection of Rotterdam-based artists: BIPOC filmmakers and performers. We aim to offer a safe and supportive space for these artists and producers to share their visions with the wider art community.

The films and live spoken word performances explore themes of identity, community, grief, and existentialism — topics often left unspoken or overlooked. We believe that while we may struggle individually, these experiences connect us deeply. Through this programme, we invite you to come together, sit with these vulnerable moments, and find solidarity in shared reflection.

Please note that some vulnerable topics may be emotionally triggering.

Team Squish 💕

We resist because we love
Spoken words by Denk Neni

You may call me a big mermaid from your stomach
by Sol Lee 이이내. The performance is a recitement of a text for and from queer feminist theorist Gloria Anzaldúa, built through layered English-Korean translations—word by word, phrase by phrase—using double meanings, mistranslations, and machine errors to echo her thinking on living in the borderlands.

Greenpeace
by Sansan
2023, Netherlands, 2 minutes, English
Synopsis A person comes into contact with quietness.
About the artist Crisandra Banshi is a Rotterdam-based audiovisual artist and researcher. Their work explores the relationship between the subconscious and reality, using rhythmic editing and the dissonance between image and sound to reflect on identity, memory, and overlooked histories.

The Space Between Time
by Kabi Kimari
2024, Kenya, 6 minutes, English and Kiswahili
Synopsis This work is about the discomfort that comes with change. The feeling of lostness when old patterns are no longer working. The trust necessary to keep walking even when the road ahead is dark.
About the artist Kabi Kimari is an anti-disciplinary artist whose work explores African spirituality, unseen forces, and surreal reflections on gender, body, and emotion. The characters in their work act as both independent entities and mirrors of self.

Pássaro Memória (A Bird Called Memory)
by Leonardo Martinelli
2023, Brazil, 15 minutes, Portuguese w/ English subtitles
Synopsis A bird called Memory has forgotten how to come back home. Lua, a trans woman, searches for Memory in the streets, but the city can be a hostile place.
About the artist Leonardo Martinelli is a filmmaker from Rio de Janeiro. His films have screened at Locarno, Cannes, Toronto, and BFI London. He holds a Master’s degree in Communication and is developing his first feature film.

If I Raised My Mother
by Bhavna Madan Mohan
2024, United Kingdom, 2 minutes, English
Synopsis Born from an argument I had with my mother about breaking the cycle of hurtful mother–daughter relationships, If I Raised My Mother is an exploration of growing up as the daughter of an Indian mother.
About the artist —

The Silent Smile We Share
by Celine Martosoewondo & Samira Veldwijk
2025, Netherlands, 8 minutes, Multilingual w/ English subtitles
Synopsis A smile we share with unknown women that we pass in public spaces. A small gesture, but a moment of seeing one another — their presence or a similar feeling we share in that moment. It’s small but meaningful.
About the artist Everything in due time.

Mama Always Told Me Not to Run in the Dark
by Viana Afoumou
2024, Netherlands, 7 minutes, English
Synopsis Mama always told me not to run in the dark…
She said, “Who’s gonna be there for you?”
She said, “The wolves will be waiting too”
She said, “Dogs turn mad in the darkness”
Mama always told me not to run in the dark…
About the artist “Suddenly, I was surrounded by horses. I sat by the water to refresh my feet, then I laid down and I closed my eyes. After a few minutes, one of them came by and sniffed my nose. I was a little bit scared but I stayed still. The horse was whispering a song.”

Absentia
by Tash Kimmell
Netherlands, 8 minutes, English
Synopsis Through video montage and essayistic voiceover, we follow as Tash attempts to negotiate living in the afterglow of her mother’s life and the finitude of her death. The film explores how we reanimate the dead through memory and dreams.
About the artist Tash Kimmell is an American photographer and audio-journalist from the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work revolves around grief, friendship, and self-image. She is currently pursuing a master’s in multimedia journalism and design at the Royal Academy of Art.

Another Life
by k_anti
2023, United Kingdom, 14 minutes, English and Nepali
Synopsis A music video telling a love story between a South Asian queer couple (Nepali and Indian), set in Folkestone, UK. Shot by a women-led diasporic crew, it explores love, loss, and longing, and challenges the homophobia the artist has experienced in her culture. A behind-the-scenes film accompanies the work.
About the artist k_anti is a multidimensional singer, songwriter, and producer from Nepal, raised in the UK. Her music draws from personal experiences of love, grief, and identity. Combining emotional vulnerability with sonic experimentation, she uses storytelling to navigate her diasporic roots and queer identity across sound and film.

From a place I was to a place I escaped
by Kenza Bianco,
Netherlands, 5 minutes
Synopsis
About the artist

About Squish
Squish is a queer-feminist cultural platform that fosters LGBTQ+ culture makers and, more broadly, proletarian artists. With an intersectional approach to identity politics, Squish organizes multidisciplinary events emphasizing self-representation and peer support.

About Squish Movie Camp
Squish Movie Camp is a recurring program of the organization. It is a research hub on working class, BIPOC, queer and feminist filmic history and a platform for a new generation of artists embodying their legacy. The goal of these multidisciplinary programs is to question self-representation as a tool to raise awareness on power dynamics.

Cineville is valid at the door and online on the day itself!