WE LIVED IN EACH OTHER'S HOUSES
FOOD & FOOTAGE – An art and environmental cross-border dialogue program curated by CSN Lab
09 SEPTEMBER 2026 / from 18:30
ZK/U BerlinSiemensstr. 27, 10551, Berlin, Germany
Curated by the Cultural and Social Narratives Laboratory (CSN Lab), We Lived in Each Other's Houses brings together Armenian and Azerbaijani artists, filmmakers, researchers, cultural practitioners, and wider communities to reflect on shared landscapes, displacement, memory, coexistence, and possibilities for peace. Through documentary cinema and public discussion, the programme creates a neutral space for dialogue and critical reflection.
The evening presents two recent documentary films developed independently yet in parallel: Searching for Satyrus (2025) by Rena Effendi and In the Absence of One (2025) by Varduhi Balyan. Although emerging from different artistic practices and perspectives, both films explore the enduring consequences of the Armenian–Azerbaijani conflict through personal narratives. Through personal stories, lost geographies, environmental transformation, and the multilayered traumatic memories of war, they reflect on the consequences of conflict, the loss of shared landscapes and coexistence, and the possibilities of imagining post-conflict futures.
Following the screenings, filmmakers Rena Effendi and Varduhi Balyan will join Tigran Amiryan and Arsen Abrahamyan (CSN Lab) for a public conversation exploring their artistic practices, approaches to representing the complex past, and the role of art and documentary cinema in imagining peaceful coexistence and future forms of dialogue.
The evening will center around a shared dinner curated by Har Toum, visual artist and creative director of CSN Lab, offering an informal space for conversation and exchange among participants and audiences.
Searching for Satyrus
by Rena Effendi
101'
USA/Azerbaijan, 2025
Russian, English and Azerbaijani with English subtitles
In the Absence of One
by Varduhi Balyan
90' / 10' teaser will be shown
Armenia, in production
Armenian (English)
The film screening is free of charge; purchasing a meal is not required to attend the movie night.
The price is 15 euros per person (drinks not included).
18:30 Doors open
19:00 Introduction: Tigran Amiryan & Arsen Abrahamyan
19:20 Artist Talk and Screening: Varduhi Balyan
19:40 Curated Dinner with Har Toum
20:30 Film screening: Rena Effendi
22:10 Q&A
22:30 End
The program is developed by the Cultural and Social Narratives Laboratory (CSN Lab) in cooperation with ZK/U – Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik, with the support of TMU – Trust for Mutual Understanding.
CSN Lab is a Yerevan-based collective of researchers and cultural practitioners working at the intersection of memory activism and cultural rights. Their projects explore coexistence between conflicting communities, spatial and environmental justice, queer narratives, and post-war displacement, crossing disciplines from memory studies and urbanism to decolonial critique and art.