In a new project titled ›ROOTS‹, DOXS RUHR explores the possibilities and motivations behind migrant life designs between Duisburg and Unna. What conditions do young film enthusiasts encounter in the Ruhr region? How is the societal diversity of the region made visible in contemporary film culture? Is it possible to start a creative career from here?

During the talk at the WerkStadt, the host, Jihad Azahrai, engages in conversation with actor and film/theater director Bashar Al Murabea and diversity manager Ella Steinmann. How open are the theater stages in the Ruhr area to intersectional perspectives? How diverse is artistic practice across various theater disciplines? And what characteristics set apart institutional and independent working contexts, respectively?

›ROOTS‹, is supported by the Interkultur RUHR grant awarded by the RVR with funding from the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. 

Bashar Al Murabea was born in Damascus and studied acting and business administration. In 2015, he arrived in Duisburg and initially participated in various theater productions. Six years later, he made his debut as an author with ›Im Kreis der Sterne‹ at the Schauspiel Duisburg. Simultaneously, he pursued a degree in film directing. His intermediate diploma film ›To smile or not to smile‹, received multiple award nominations and even made it to Hollywood. His graduation film ›The Paradox Project‹ is set to tour film festivals in 2024.

Ella Steinmann is an expert in diversity-oriented change processes. During and after her studies in philosophy and religious studies, she worked as a project officer at the Mercator Foundation in Essen. From 2019 to 2022, she was a diversity development agent within the program ›360° – Fonds für Kulturen der neuen Stadtgesellschaft‹ of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes at the Theater Oberhausen. Currently, she works as a diversity manager, supporting the Schauspiel Dortmund in a discrimination-critical transformation project.