Stories of Courage and Resistance in LGBTQ+ films – DW – 06/07/2025
Producer Igor Myakotin portrays queer life in Russia, while actor Niza Jay breaks with stereotypes to empowers Black queers in South Africa. Director Khozy Rizal is revolutionizing Indonesian cinema.
Russian director Igor Myakotin Image: DW
Film producer Igor Myakotin portrays queer life under the repressive Russian regime. His films "Queendom" and "Welcome to Chechnya" have won multiple awards.
South African actor Niza Jay Image: DW
South African actor Niza Jay has been highly-praised globally for breaking with stereotypes and empowering Black queers in "The Wound" and Phillip Miller's "Nkoli: The Vogue Opera."
Indonesian director Khozy Rizal Image: DW
Indonesian director Khozy Rizal is revolutionizing cinema in his home country, and made history in Cannes with the film "Basri & Salma in a Never-Ending Comedy."
Together, they are inspiring a new generation of filmmakers and bringing queer diversity onto the screen.
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DW
4 hours ago
- DW
Producing news for kids in Ukraine
What kind of news and entertainment content do children who spend their childhood in a war zone actually need? The public broadcaster Suspilne in Ukraine has set out to produce helpful content for young audiences. "We want to make something for the children in Ukraine, a place where they can find information but also entertainment," says Olga Avrakhova, a producer for kids' content for the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne . Since Russia's full-scale invasion more than three years ago, an entire generation in Ukraine is destined to spend their childhood between bomb attacks, destruction of their home country and anxiety about the future. Adding to their distress is the fact that an end to the war seems a long way off. "For the children it is important to understand what is happening around them," Avrakhova explained. "Many of them are still consuming Russian media out of habit and because the Russians simply produce a lot more than we do. But these children live in the middle of a news hurricane, not always knowing what is true and what is fake. So, it is very important to sort everything for them and give them true, healthy information. We try and speak their language, give them reliable sources, so they have someone they can trust. This is important for their everyday life and for their future." Suspilne has produced content for children and young adults, including cartoons and audio-stories for those aged 2 to 6 under the program name "Brobaks" and TikTok- and Youtube videos and Instagram reels with breaking news content for older children between 9 and 14 years under the program name "Collider ". "The attention span of our young users is extremely short," said Avrakhova. "Therefore, it is our task to always find hooks, something fun and interesting that really catches their attention and makes them watch the news until the end." 100 percent reality, no taboos According to Avrakhova, it is critical to meet young viewers at eye level and to not refrain from discussing sad or difficult topics. "Our aim is 100 percent reality, no taboos," she said. "But of course, there are topics that are more difficult to approach and where we really need to think about how to tell them to young audiences. We are quite new to this and sometimes we are still searching for the right language to tell these stories, because it is very sensitive." But this should not deter the producers of kids' content from addressing the war's consequences, she added. "One of our cartoons is about a dog named Toto and his friends, other small animals, who go to kindergarten every day," she said. "In one of the episodes, you see a dad wearing a volunteer uniform. Or you will see that one of the kids has a prosthetic body part. We will not explain how exactly this happened, but we show aspects that children might come across in their daily lives." Another Brobaks format is "Brave Tales," therapeutic fairy tales that aired shortly after the Russian invasion and that aim to help children and parents deal with chaotic or even life-changing events. The 'Brave Tales' are therapeutic fairy tales in audio format designed to help children and their families deal with traumatic experiences Image: Suspilne Ukraine Producing captivating, interesting and informative content for young Ukrainians is a Suspilne aim. To attract younger audiences, 'Collider' features popular influencers such as Lera Peshka, who in his show 'Cyber House' advises on cyber security. The Youtube format Ta Nevzhe? [EN: Really?] and the TikTok-News-Format [EN: Whover, whatever] focus on political events but also popular culture and entertainment. Show host Vlad Rudnitskyy said working with influencers is important. "My audience already knows me as a blogger, so they might also be interested in news content coming from a familiar face," he said. "To get young people interested, we use modern slang, memes and internet trends, things that are all part of their culture." His colleague Yuliia Petrenko adds that experimenting with different formats is another way to capture attention: "We use a lot of different formats such as classic news, blitz polls, blogs, vlogs and sketches. I think sketches are particularly fun because they allow you to act out and explain a complicated topic in a simple and entertaining way." In the 'Cyber House' programme, young people learn how to deal critically with the media Image: Suspilne Ukraine Media production in a war zone The war, like with all matters of life in Ukraine, also affects media production. "So far - and we can almost say, fortunately - most of the attacks have taken place at night, when we are not working," said Avrakhova. "During attacks, of course we need to halt the entire production. But we have adapted many of our processes and routines to the war. Many of us are working remotely, we also have people replacing each other in case a moderator doesn't manage to get to the studio in time. For us, this is part of our daily lives, we are used to it, and it does not stop us from doing our work. The production must continue." Learning from other media houses The Suspilne team draws support and inspiration from other broadcasters when creating their programs. Team members visited Germany in 2024, and the following year, others visited Belgium, the Netherlands and France, with the aim in each country to meet other children's programming producers. In spring 2025, members of the Suspilne team visited content producers for young audiences in the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Image: Suspilne Ukraine "Everyone faces very similar challenges," said Avrakhova, including, "the short attention span of our audiences, and the strong competition with other online sources of entertainment and information." But one thing surprised her: "Many of the other media houses have been producing kids' content for several decades. Compared to this we are very new – and the parents' generation in Ukraine also did not grow up with children's programs, so they also need to be convinced. We can still learn a lot from other broadcasters." Meeting up with schools and students At the same time, Suspilne aims to include more young people and schools into the editorial process and production. The "Collider" team visits schools across the country to meet with students from grade 5 to 8. They present their programs, gather feedback, discuss new format ideas with the students and offer them the chance to practice working behind and in front of the camera. From summer 2025, the Suspilne team will be visiting schools across the country to get in touch with the young target groups Image: Suspilne Ukraine "We asked our audiences to contact us via social media and tell us where they are waiting for Collider to visit, and we received more than 100 responses asking us to visit their schools," said Yulia Dychuck, Suspilne's director of children and youth content. "Those include the regions Zhytomyr, Volhynia, Zaporizhzhya, Kiev, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and many other cities where the children are watching our content and waiting to get to know our team." Members of the Suspilne team, Olga Avrakhova, Daria Yanushkevych, Vlad Rudnitskyy and Yuliia Petrenko, show young people throughout the country that there are alternatives to the Russian-language programme Image: Suspilne Ukraine According to Olga Avrakhova, the team will continue the visits at the beginning of the new school year in the fall. "We want to visit as many schools as possible so that the children even in the smallest villages know that there is news and content just for them," she said. "We want to give them something that offers them hope and shows them that in addition to their parents, there are other people who care and worry about them, about their mental health and education. This is very important for us." Together with the Ukrainian public broadcaster (Suspilne) and the media organization Lviv Media Forum , DW Akademie is working on the project "Strengthening Independent Media for a strong democratic Ukraine" (2024-2026), financed by the European Commission and supported by the German Federal Foreign Office. The project aims to sustainably increase the capacity of independent media, including Ukrainian public service broadcasting, to promote constructive and open dialogue among the Ukrainian population and to support the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting on its way to meeting EU standards. DW Akademie provides comprehensive support to the Suspilne Kids News team in its professionalization and international networking. This is done through strategic consulting, mentoring, training and providing equipment, as well as through targeted exchange with German and European public broadcasters.
DW
2 days ago
- DW
Bach's St. John Passion in queer and Arabian versions – DW – 06/11/2025
Violence against LGBTQ+ people and well as war and displacement in Gaza inspire two adaptations of one of Johann Sebastian Bach's works on the story of Christ. "QueerPassion," by author, director and dramaturge Thomas Höft, opens with a reference to the June 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting targeting the LGBTQ+ community, in which 49 people died and 53 were injured. It is one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in US history. Played by the Art House 17 orchestra on period instruments, Höft's work uses as its musical basis Johann Sebastian Bach's famous St. John Passion, based on the Gospel story of the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross. In his libretto, however, Höft describes the stories of queer people who are discriminated against or murdered. "I asked myself, where do I, as a queer man, appear in classical music?" Höft told DW. And he quickly realized that the answer was: "Actually, not at all." And that is precisely what he wants to change. Thomas Höft revisits Bach with 'QueerPassion' Image: Nikola Milatovic Experience Bach in Arabic Bach's St. John Passion also served as a model for the Bulgarian musician and musicologist Vladimir Ivanoff in his "Arabian Passion." The composer is concerned with the people living in the Middle East, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, whose suffering through war, displacement and oppression has a long history. The impetus for his "Arabian Passion" was the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, which had devastating consequences for the civilian population. "And I feel the same way about Gaza now. I had several music students from the Middle East in my workshops, of whom I'm only sporadically informed if they're still alive," Ivanoff told DW. Vladimir Ivanoff builds bridges between cultures with his 'Arabian Passion' Image: Unbekannt Ivanoff left the text and music by Johann Sebastian Bach in their original form, but some of the instruments come from the Arabian Mediterranean region. Lebanese singer Fadia El-Hage sings all of Bach's arias in Arabic. Transforming the St. John Passion Both the Arabian and the queer versions of the St. John Passion are now on tour. They will be performed, among other works, as part of the Bachfest in Leipzig, held from June 12-22. The revisited versions of the work appropriately fit into this year's theme for the Bach festival, "Transformation." It was in Leipzig that Johann Sebastian, while serving as Cantor of St. Thomas Church, composed his famous St. John Passion in 1723. Bach often rewrote his cantatas himself, using the so-called parody technique. He also had them performed by other ensembles. For example, he later added a sacred text to secular cantatas, thus placing them in a different context. Thomas Höft and Vladimir Ivanoff build on this approach with their version of the St. John Passion. Adding a Middle Eastern touch to Bach For his "Arabian Passion," Vladimir Ivanoff has recombined pieces from the St. John Passion and Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Instead of sticking to the traditional combination of orchestra and choir, his ensemble Sarband also features the jazzy Modern String Quartet. The ensemble also includes instruments from the Mediterranean region, such as the long-necked lute ud, the flute ney and the Arabic violin. Sarband means "connection." Ivanoff sees himself as a bridge-builder and wants to connect the West and the East through music. Ivanoff sees his ensemble Sarband as an intercultural experimental field for understanding and tolerance Image: Unbekannt The mere fact that Christian texts from the St. John Passion are sung in Arabic, and by a woman at that, can be seen as a provocation for conservative Muslims. This makes it all the more surprising that Vladimir Ivanoff and his Sarband ensemble have been welcome guests at various Arab music festivals. Playing for the emir of Abu Dhabi Since 2003, Sarband has been touring the Middle East with the "Arabian Passion." The ensemble has performed in the cathedral of Beirut and in Aleppo, Syria. "We also performed the Passion in Damascus at the Alhambra Cinema, a very famous jazz concert hall," says Ivanoff. They were also invited to Abu Dhabi to perform during the Sheikh Zayed Book Award ceremony. The Emir liked their music. However, shortly before the event, organizers noticed that a female singer was planned. That couldn't be allowed; the ensemble had to play an entirely instrumental version of the work. Ivanoff also travels with his ensemble to Hezbollah-held areas. Sometimes, lyrics or titles of Christian and Jewish songs are changed, he says, but he accepts that. "That's our principle: we want to get into the structures at all costs," says Ivanoff. "I see myself a bit as a musical guerrilla. What we do is effective, and this gentle seduction works incredibly well." Early pogroms against LGBTQ people Like Vladimir Ivanoff, Thomas Höft adheres strictly to Bach's original musical style in his "QueerPassion," including the structure of the arias, recitatives and choruses. "In the end, every note is a one-to-one copy of Bach's, only the text is new," says Höft. His libretto alludes not only to the current discrimination against the LGBTQ community, but also to centuries-old cases Höft encountered during his research. The Art House 17 ensemble is accompanying the 'QueerPassion' tour Image: Marieke Wijntjes One of the historical events his work refers to goes back to 1674, when the cathedral in the Dutch city of Utrecht collapsed. The ruins later became a secret meeting point for gay men. But they were betrayed, Höft says: under torture, one of the participants revealed the names of the others. Among them were prominent members of the community. "The whole thing culminated in a pogrom, because the Protestant pastors said the collapse of the cathedral was God's punishment for the sodomites." Mass executions of gay men followed. "That's shocking and one of the main stories featured in 'QueerPassion.'" 'QueerPassion' performances include local choir groups Thomas Höft incorporates regional references related to each city where his work is performed. For example, in the eastern German city of Halberstadt, a woman who was living with another woman while disguised as a man was executed. "For me, that was the right kind of trial story, like the one between Jesus and Pilate in the St. John Passion; I was able to use the dialogues in the courtroom in Halberstadt for these passages," says Thomas Höft. The Antwerp Queer Choir will contribute to an upcoming performance in the Belgian city Image: Antwerp Queer Choir The Passion chorales are sung by LGBTQ choirs from each region. In Leipzig, it's the "Tollkirschen," who usually sing pop songs with choreography, and the women's choir "Fräulein A Capella," whose repertoire otherwise includes songs from Eastern Europe. Both choirs rehearse under the direction of Cornelia Schäfer. Bach's Baroque music is new to them. The "Tollkirschen" claim to be the only openly gay men's choir in Germany's eastern states. "We don't want to hide ourselves. Terms like 'gay' appear in many of the lyrics in our program," says choir member Dirk Bockelmann. The stories of the persecution of queer people deeply touched the choir members. "Thomas Höft told us the background information during the rehearsal; at times, we were brought to tears; we immediately sang the chorales in a completely different way." "QueerPassion," which is funded by the European Union, will be performed in Vienna on June 7, in Leipzig on June 13 and in Antwerp on August 22. This article was originally written in German.
DW
3 days ago
- DW
Stories of Courage and Resistance in LGBTQ+ films – DW – 06/07/2025
Producer Igor Myakotin portrays queer life in Russia, while actor Niza Jay breaks with stereotypes to empowers Black queers in South Africa. Director Khozy Rizal is revolutionizing Indonesian cinema. Russian director Igor Myakotin Image: DW Film producer Igor Myakotin portrays queer life under the repressive Russian regime. His films "Queendom" and "Welcome to Chechnya" have won multiple awards. South African actor Niza Jay Image: DW South African actor Niza Jay has been highly-praised globally for breaking with stereotypes and empowering Black queers in "The Wound" and Phillip Miller's "Nkoli: The Vogue Opera." Indonesian director Khozy Rizal Image: DW Indonesian director Khozy Rizal is revolutionizing cinema in his home country, and made history in Cannes with the film "Basri & Salma in a Never-Ending Comedy." Together, they are inspiring a new generation of filmmakers and bringing queer diversity onto the screen.
