Sumac Space

OPEN CALL x SHORT FILM documentary, fiction, animation, experimental, live-action Deadline: June 7, 2026 Curated by Amelia Umuhire and Davood Madadpoor info: www.sumac.space Across regions shaped by conflict - Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan, Kurdistan, Afghanistan, Syria and many other places - daily life is marked by displacement and uncertainty, creating a persistent sense of suspension. The films in this program focus less on events than on the mental and temporal conditions they produce. Attentive to form, they trace how these states emerge through repetition, interruption, and dissonance - moments where meaning falters. Rather than offering direct explanations, the program presents films that engage uncertainty as an open, ongoing inquiry grounded in present experience. We are looking for short films (documentary, fiction, animation, experimental, live-action) for the Focus program of INTERFILM 42nd International Short Film Festival Berlin, preferably no longer than 20min, with english subtitles, screening fee for selected films (50,- EUR) We are aware of the unstable internet conditions in many places, please share the film link in any way possible. If you have already submitted your film directly to the Interfilm Festival, please let us know. If you have any questions, please contact us via the email: contact[at]sumac.space

𝗔 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 [part 1/2] on view until September 26, 2025 Galerie Ac. Art & Dialogue curated by Davood Madadpoor Agil Abdullayev (Frankfurt), Hüseyin Aksoy (Istanbul), Reyhaneh Mirjahani (Stockholm), Yasmin Noorbakhsh (London), Saayeh Sayyah (Tehran), Helena Tahir (Ljubljana), Yaqeen Yamani (Jericho Palestine), Abbas Zahedi (London) / collectives: Orta Okul and ZînKolektif share a research thread on identity, memory, and socio-political struggle, exploring how personal stories connect with broader historical and cultural forces. Their work examines the layered nature of individual and collective identity, often drawing on family and cultural memory while also addressing the challenges faced by marginalized communities. They investigate physical and metaphorical spaces as places of conflict, negotiation, and resistance, questioning dominant narratives. At the heart of it all, what persists is hope and resilience—the quiet but unshakable force that carries these stories forward. locations indicate the artists’ places of living and working

Wir freuen uns, die Künstler:innen der nächsten Ausstellung ACTS OF CONFLATIONS vorzustellen, die am 13. September im Rahmen der Berlin Art Week eröffnet. Die acht internationalen Künstler:innen und zwei Kollektive wurden für den Sumac Space Open Call durch eine Jury bestehend aus Jonatan Habib Engqvist, Dr. Nat Muller und Angelika Stepken ausgewählt. Agil Abdullayev, Hüseyin Aksoy, Shahrzad Darafsheh, Reyhaneh Mirjahani, Yasmin Noorbakhsh, Orta Okul, Fatemeh Sayyah, Helena Tahir, Yaqeen Yamani, Abbas Zahedi und ZînKolektif verbindet ein gemeinsamer Forschungsschwerpunkt: Identität, Erinnerung und die zivilgesellschaftliche Auseinandersetzung mit soziopolitischen Fragen. Sie untersuchen, wie persönliche Geschichten mit größeren historischen und kulturellen Kräften verflochten sind. Ihre Arbeiten beleuchten die vielschichtige Natur individueller und gemeinschaftlicher Identität, greifen auf familiäre und kulturelle Erinnerungen zurück und zeigen zugleich die Herausforderungen marginalisierter Gemeinschaften auf. Körperliche wie metaphorische Räume erscheinen als Orte des Konflikts, der Aushandlung und des Widerstands, wobei die Hoffnung als leise, unerschütterliche Kraft stets bestehen bleibt. Kuration und Text: Davood Madadpoor

𝗔 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 [part 2/2] on view until September 26, 2025 Galerie AC. Art & Dialogue curated by Davood Madadpoor Agil Abdullayev (Frankfurt), Hüseyin Aksoy (Istanbul), Reyhaneh Mirjahani (Stockholm), Yasmin Noorbakhsh (London), Saayeh Sayyah (Tehran), Helena Tahir (Ljubljana), Yaqeen Yamani (Jericho Palestine), Abbas Zahedi (London) / collectives: Orta Okul and ZînKolektif share a research thread on identity, memory, and socio-political struggle, exploring how personal stories connect with broader historical and cultural forces. Their work examines the layered nature of individual and collective identity, often drawing on family and cultural memory while also addressing the challenges faced by marginalized communities. They investigate physical and metaphorical spaces as places of conflict, negotiation, and resistance, questioning dominant narratives. At the heart of it all, what persists is hope and resilience—the quiet but unshakable force that carries these stories forward. locations indicate the artists’ places of living and working

Take a moment to explore Sumac Dialogues. Serenay Anık Gök’s new essay offers a thoughtful look into ZînKolektif’s work as a collective. It’s one of the texts from our Acts of Conflations exhibition catalogue—you can also find the other catalogue essays there. ZînKolektif is an independent collective of women and queer artists united through photography. Functioning as a space of solidarity, the collective not only brings together individual photographic practices but also fosters shared ways of thinking, aesthetic approaches, and visual languages. Central to ZînKolektif's ethos is a feminist perspective that profoundly shapes both the themes they engage with and their photographic methods. 📷 1. Gülşin Ketenci, Women Athletes–Sports Against All Odds, 2015–2019 📷 3. Fatma Çeli̇k, The People Of Sasun, 2017-2019 📷 4. Aylin Kızıl, Xaniyasor, 2020-2021 (Red House/Home" in Kurdish) 📷 5. Serpil Polat, Fairy Escaped Water, 2018 📷 6. Serra Akcan, Recollecting, 2017–2018 📷 7. Çiğdem Üçüncü, Displaced, 2015–2024 #SumacSpace #SumacDialogues #ExhibitionCatalogue #ActsOfConflations #CollectiveMemory #FeministPhotography

𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝟏𝟑 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐀𝐂. 𝐀𝐫𝐭 & 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞, 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟔–𝟗 𝐩𝐦. Agil Abdullayev (Frankfurt), Hüseyin Aksoy (Istanbul), Reyhaneh Mirjahani (Stockholm), Yasmin Noorbakhsh (London), Saayeh Sayyah (Tehran), Helena Tahir (Ljubljana), Yaqeen Yamani (Jericho Palestine), Abbas Zahedi (London); collectives: Orta Okul and ZînKolektif curated by Davood Madadpoor 📅 Saturday, 13 September 🕕 6-9 pm Opening 🕕 7:30 pm Dance performance 📍Donaustraße 84, 12043 Berlin On the occasion of Berlin Art Week, 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝟏𝟑 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝗿, Galerie AC. Art & Dialogue presents the exhibition 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, bringing together eight artists and two collectives selected from last year’s Sumac Open Call. It invited artists, curators, and research bodies who engage with contemporary urges in the socio-political circumstances of West Asia to submit their work and projects. The selection process was undertaken by an international jury consisting of Jonatan Habib Engqvist, Dr. Nat Muller, and Angelika Stepken. Sumac warmly thanks the jury, the participating artists, and all those who contributed to making this exhibition possible. Kindly follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter for updates. LINK IN BIO 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗰.𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 locations indicate the artists' places of living and working @agilabdullayev @studiohuseyinaksoy @reyhanmirj @yasmin.noorbakhsh @f_sayaah @helenatahir @yaqeen_yam @abbzah @zinkolektif @ortaokulinitiative @aylinkizil_ @cigdu @gulsinket @fatmacelik_fate @serpil_polatt @serraakcan

Happy to share a fresh text from our Acts of Conflations exhibition catalogue: From the Marshes to the City of Revolution: On Roots, Ruptured Histories, and Speculative Acts of Remembrance by Helena Tahir If you’d like to hear about future publications, you’re welcome to join our newsletter and follow us here. Link in bio. In this essay, Helena Tahir recounts their family’s journey from rural Iraq to Baghdad, highlighting the hardships faced by rural migrants in the city. The family’s experiences under the monarchy, the 1958 revolution, and the Ba’ath Party regime are explored, father’s political awakening and eventual departure from Iraq, shedding light on the social and political upheavals of the time. 📷 3. Helena Tahir, The Last Sector II, exhibition Acts of Conflactions, Galerie AC. Art & Dialogue, Berlin 2025; photo courtesy of Sumac Space 📷 1.4.5. Helena Tahir, The Last Sector II, 2025, screenprint, golden leaf, embroidery on faux leather; photo: Jaka Babnik, MGLC archive #SumacSpace #SumacDialogues #ExhibitionCatalogue #ActsOfConflations #CollectiveMemory

Halos of History and Memory—Threshold Rhythms in Yasmin Nourbakhsh’s Works Pariya Ferdos[se]  “Yasmin Noorbakhsh lives in a diasporic condition. This in-betweenness is not just geographical; it shapes the work’s being. Her work and life are dual and multilayered: languages overlap, translations slip, signs shift—Persian/English, text/sound, image/word. Translation is not a solution for understanding; form becomes different.” Read the whole essay on www.Sumac.Space If you’d like to hear about future publications and exhibitions, you’re welcome to join our newsletter and follow us here—link in bio. 📷 1. Yasmin Noorbakhsh, Am I Home, 2025 30x40 cm, Image transfer and graphite on canvas (detail) 📷 3. Yasmin Nourbakhsh, Soft Delete; Once Vivid;, Unseen Wholeness, 2025, Oil, acrylic, quartz sand and image transfer on canvas; exhibition Acts of Conflactions 📷 4. Yasmin Nourbakhsh, Sound Barrier, 2022, oil and acrylic on canvas; Sculptures: Set in Stone, 2022, hand glazed stoneware and concrete 📷 5. Yasmin Nourbakhsh, Unowned Ravel, 2023, double glazed stoneware ceramic sculpture and human hair #SumacSpace #SumacDialogues #ExhibitionCatalogue #ActsOfConflations

On Radicals Between Trees and Dicks—Agil Abdullayev in conversation with Davood Madadpoor “Everything we experience leaves a trace within us. Research does too. What I hear, what I witness, and what I’m trusted with all become part of the emotional architecture of the work. The boundary between personal and collective dissolves—not because I force it to, but because they are already intertwined. Memory is relational. It’s built in proximity to others. The personal and collective don’t sit side by side; they fold into each other.” Read the whole conversation on www.Sumac.Space If you’d like to hear about future publications and exhibitions, you’re welcome to join our newsletter and follow us here—link in bio. 📷 Still from Radicals Between Trees and Dicks, courtesy of artist #SumacSpace #SumacDialogues #ExhibitionCatalogue #ActsOfConflations #CollectiveMemory #LGBTQ+ #Queer

A new text from our Acts of Conflations exhibition catalogue: Spiral Images by Dr Necmi Sönmez on practises of Hüseyin Aksoy. If you’d like to hear about future publications and exhibitions, you’re welcome to join our newsletter and follow us here—link in bio. In this text, Dr Necmi Sönmez speaks about Hüseyin Aksoy’s art, which explores the cultural identity of Mesopotamia, focusing on ancient settlements and ruins. His works, including paintings, installations, and videos, use the Syrian Rue plant as a symbol of witnessing and memory. Aksoy’s series, such as “Scab” and “Beyond the Sea,” blend past imagery with present-day relevance, highlighting the enduring nature of history and memory. 📷 1. A Review on a Creation of a Civilization, 2025, 140x100 cm, walnut paint on papert, photo Barış özçetin 📷 3, 4. Hüseyin Aksoy, Scab, 2024, 32x42 cm, walnut paint on papert, exhibition Acts of Conflactions, Galerie AC. Art & Dialogue, Berlin 2025, courtesy of Sumac Space #SumacSpace #SumacDialogues #ExhibitionCatalogue #ActsOfConflations #CollectiveMemory

Happy to share the third text from our Acts of Conflations exhibition catalogue. If you’d like to hear about future publications, you’re welcome to join our newsletter and follow us here. Link in bio In this piece, Ipek Çınar, co-founder of Orta Okul, gently walks us through the three principles that guide their work: art with the community, maintenance over development, and participants before curriculum. She reflects on how these ideas shape a practice grounded in co-creation, care, and learning together—challenging the usual models of art education and opening space for something more inclusive, flexible, and fair. 📷 1. Orta Okul, This Is Not A Curriculum, 2025, exhibition Acts of Conflactions, Galerie AC. Art & Dialogue, Berlin 2025, courtesy of Sumac Space 📷 3. From إطار مفتوح program, with unaccompanied refugee children, facilitated by Mohamed Badarne, photographed by Orta Okul 📷 4. From 50 Jahre Türkischer Frauenverein Berlin: Frauenpower, Brücken bauen und Wandel inspirieren exhibition, curated and photographed by Orta Okul 📷 5. From Movement Workshop: Şiirden Dansa, with women speaking Turkish, facilitated by Gizem Aksu, photographed by Orta Okul #SumacSpace #SumacDialogues #ExhibitionCatalogue #CommunityArtPractice #ArtEducation

Excited to share the second conversation from our Act of Conflations exhibition catalogue! If you’d like to stay updated on future publications, join our newsletter and follow us here on Instagram. Link in bio. Holding the Dilemma, Sitting with the Question—Reyhaneh Mirjahani in conversation with İpek Çınar In this conversation, Ipek Çınar speaks with Reyhaneh Mirjahani about the intersections of art, participation, and politics. Reyhaneh’s practice investigates questions of agency, responsibility, and relationality. These themes often unfold through participatory projects that engage communities across different cultural and geopolitical contexts. Together, they explore how art can serve as a tool for critical inquiry, creating spaces where dialogue, dissent, and reflection become possible. The conversation moves from the shaping of early works around identity and belonging to the ongoing An Experiment on Agency series. This exchange explores the tensions, dilemmas, and unexpected outcomes that arise when art and participation intersect with the complex realities of our world. Read the text in Sumac Dialogues: www.sumac.space 📷 image courtesy of artist and Sumac Space #SumacSpace #SumacDialogues #ExhibitionCatalogue #ArtPublication #CuratorialPractice #ArtJournal #ArtAndPolitics #ArtAndAgency