SAFER SPACE
Our Films:
We have only one rule of thumb:
We do not make films that have a hateful, such as sexist, racist, gay- or transphobic message.
We’re looking forward to seeing films with diverse subject matters – but please take a minute to consider if you might be reinforcing harmful stereotypes, e.g. when telling a story about marginalized people.
Our Guidelines:
Let’s be conscious about our privileges and give space to everyone
One secret of Kino is creating a non-hierarchical space where everyone can bloom. There are many kinds of privileges; e.g. differences in gender, race, ethnicity, disability and mental health status, class, education and language.
Especially in Kinos, technical skills, experience and social connections matter a lot too. If you find yourself in a privileged position in some way, be considerate, share what you can and lift others up as much as you can!
Don’t make assumptions about people – let everyone define themselves.
Don’t make assumptions or comments about gender, sexuality, culture, race, age, disability status, body type etc. People will share of themselves what they want to; stick to that. Everyone has a right to be gendered – or not gendered – by their own standards and be addressed with their pronouns of choice.
The Kino is a busy environment with a lot of people though, and people might make mistakes. If you make a mistake, take notice and pay attention to correcting yourself the next time. If someone makes a mistake with you, we hope you are patient enough to tell them where they went wrong.
Don’t assign people roles they didn’t ask for, and don’t assume people have a certain skill set if they didn’t claim they had one.
Communication goes a long way here – as it does with everything!
Respect everyone’s boundaries – both physical and emotional.
The only way to know someone’s boundaries is to ask!
If you are leading a project, make sure everyone who joins your project knows what they consent to, and then negotiate the consent every time something new or different comes along. Keep everyone up to date, and make sure they are comfortable with what happens and is expected of them.
For a person entering a project: if you are not sure what it involves, ask. If you feel uncomfortable or are unsure about something that you are expected to do, say it. And if you still find yourself facing demands that make you feel bad and communication doesn’t help, you can say no at any point and quit the project.
If you need any help, if you have questions, or need support in a problematic situation, do not hesitate to ask the organizers.
If there’s a problematic situation, it is good to say it aloud. The second thing is to get one of the organizers to go through it with you, and help with the situation if needed. The sooner you contact the organizers, the more quickly they can offer support and help with resolving the situation. Also, if something feels a bit awkward but you don’t quite know what it is, it might be a good idea to sit down and chat about it with someone. Often things feel more clear afterwards.
If someone accuses you of something, we first suggest you take a deep breath and maybe a break. Don’t immediately dismiss someone making an accusation, wait for the emotions to pass and then, when your mind is clearer, think about the situation and your role in it. Remember that the organizers are here for you too, and making a mistake doesn’t mean you will be excluded or dismissed. Let’s go through it together!
Only when someone repeatedly and intentionally breaks these rules and the problematic situations continue to occur despite common efforts to solve them, will the person in question be asked to leave the workshop.