Yesterday was the fourth meeting of Envisioning Other Futures. A good part of our group caught some form of the flu and so attendance was down. Perhaps it was by chance but those present were the workshop participants who were born/raised in The Netherlands and who therefore speak/write/perform mostly in Dutch.

Roziena Salihu was with us yesterday evening as visiting lecturer and it was a real treat to have this wonderful and multi-talented artist in our midst. Roziena shared a film with us which was made for the VPRO programme Dorst. Fufu met Appelmoes which is also available on the VPRO’s YouTube channel, gives the viewer an intimate peek into what it’s like being mixed-race in The Netherlands.  The film is in Dutch, but it’s one that I would recommend as a must watch film not just because it connects on a lot of personal points with regards to the search for identity and belonging, but also because of the social issues and questions that arise from watching the film.

Roziena’s approach to her work and to the challenges that she encounters and faces provided us with lots of food for thought.  I am certain that a lot of what was spoken about around the table yesterday will find a place in the future work of these young writers.

To close the evening, we had a fun little game called “the exquisite corpse”. The resulting work evoked laughter and that sense of wonder which I believe is essential to writing science fiction.

(photo of collective work produced by Marielle, Storm, Anna, Germaine, Jasper and Yannick)