Saturday, September 5 | 17:00 | Kinoteka 1
Debate: Punished for love—the LGBTQ+ community in Chechnya and Poland following the screening of “Welcome to Chechnya”, dir. David France
Language: Polish
Partner institution: Amnesty International
Poland is obligated to accept requests for protection filed by people who are persecuted for their sexual identity in their countries of origin—but a few dozen regions have recently passed “anti-LGBT” bills and attacks on LGBT+ people intensify. Meanwhile, the protagonists of “Welcome to Chechnya” are facing the ultimate punishment for their love. After the screening, activists and aid workers will discuss the reality in Poland and Chechnya: let’s learn how to act in order to change the status quo.
Guests:
Misza Czerniak—LGBTQ activist, musician, translator. Moscow-born resident of Poland. Founder of the LGBTQ-and-allies choir Voces Gaudii, board member of the Faith and Rainbow Foundation and the European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups, co-founder of Association For Free Russia.
Aleksandra Chrzanowska—culture scholar, formerly a translator at the Polish branch of Médecins Sans Frontières. Chrzanowska has been working with refugees as an integration/intercultural advisor at the Association for Legal Intervention since 2006.
