White Berry and Tracks: Stumbling Stones Amsterdam at Brooklyn Film Festival

Fri, Jun 2 - Sun, Jun 11  2023

June 2-11 is the 26th edition of the Brooklyn Film Festival, with the theme “Human Times.” At the festival, two Dutch feature films will be screened.

About White Berry

Grace (17) fled from Burundi to Rotterdam with her mother and older brother as a five- year-old girl. Grace has albinism, and albino hunters in Burundi hunted for her depigmented skin. Now in her senior year, she must do everything she can to meet her family’s expectations. When she meets Kya and her friends, a new world opens up. In Kya and her entourage, Grace sees the embodiment of her African identity, but even more of the person Grace would like to be; powerful, confident and proud. She does everything she can to become part of the group. But how do you do that if your self- image has become so negative due to years of exclusion?

About the director

With her films and series, screenwriter and director Sia Hermanides (1986) wants to create new images and show underexposed stories. After obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Media and Culture (minor Gender Studies, Political Science) at the University of Amsterdam and teaching for a few months in Tanzania, Hermanides graduated cum laude from the Utrecht School of the Arts in 2010 in the direction of screenplay and fiction directing. In 2016 she wrote and directed the BosBros-produced TV series ‘VOETBALMEISJES’. The series was nominated for the Prix Genève and won the Cinekid Kinderkast Jury award. In 2019, she directed the series ‘PAPADAG’ and the mid-length film ‘AFUA’, which was praised by the public and press. For the past two years, Hermanides has written and directed seasons 1 and 2 of the popular martial arts TV series ‘NINJA NANNY’. The series was awarded a five-star review in the NRC and has been sold to several countries including Germany, Denmark, Norway, South Korea and Slovenia. The series was also nominated for the Cinekid Kinderkast Jury Award and the prestigious Prix de Jeunesse. In 2022, Sia will make her debut with her feature film ‘WHITE BERRY’ about a young woman of African descent with albinism who is looking for her place in the world. The film is produced by Family Affair Films (including NOTHING PERSONAL, LIGHT AS FEATHERS).

Screening schedule
June 7 – 06:00 PM

About Tracks: Stumbling Stones Amsterdam

Tracks: Stumbling Stones Amsterdam, directed by Maclovia Martel, is a visually stunning journey. This short documentary explores the laying of “Stolpersteine” memorial stones honoring Holocaust victims, installed in front of the homes along the central canals in Amsterdam.

About the director

Maclovia Martel is an LA based, writer, song writer, documentarian. Trained at Otis College of Art she earned her BFA and became a Fine Artist and Sculpture. Using all she encompassed through short films in school, Music and her Fine art background she began making documentaries and writing. Her First, A Girl From Mexico (Documentary film), Played at the Prestigious Lincoln Center and nominated the best dance documentary 2013. Grow (documentary 2018), the story of a community garden and how they support and care for the people in the community. The Digital Nomad and the Scientist, A film about the first steps into living and working in space. Her Latest, Tracks-Stumbling Stones Amsterdam, is a Documentary remembering those who were murdered in the Holocaust by a Local artist, Alexander Stukenburg.

Screening schedule
June 4 – 02:00 PM