FOOD & FOOTAGE – Independent movies in combination with food

18 JUNE 2025 / starting 19:00

ZK/U BerlinSiemensstr. 27, 10551, Berlin, Germany

At Food & Footage, filmmakers and chefs come together to combine moving images with a three-course meal and thus bring current social, cultural and political topics to the table.

This edition features “How to Spell Empire”, a compelling documentary that explores a largely forgotten episode of colonial history. During World War I, 18,000 Tatars – Russian Muslims – were held in the German prisoner-of-war camp in Wünsdorf. German authorities hoped to re-educate and recruit them as Islamist fighters for their own political aims. But instead of succumbing to ideological manipulation, the Tatars turned inward: they educated themselves, built networks, and began to envision a future free from Russian imperial rule.

Told with precision and care, the film examines how propaganda, captivity, and resistance shape identities under empire. It invites us to reflect not only on the past, but also on the echoes of imperial ambition we are witnessing today – and the importance of recognizing and resisting these patterns before they repeat themselves.