Programme

_09.00_children and young adults
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Große Bühne

Readings for pupils
Azouz lives on the edge of the city, in a settlement made of wooden and corrugated iron huts. He and his siblings do go to school, but their classmates live in proper houses with running water, electricity and television. One day, Azouz decides to prove that he can be like them. Better than them… “Reflections”-guest Azouz Begag (France) talks, reads and sings about life in two cultures and presents his book for young people “Azouz, der Junge vom Stadtrand" (t: Azouz, the boy from the suburb).
School years: 1x 5-8
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_09.30_children and young adults
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Seitenbühne

Readings for pupils
With “Please Frog, Just one Sip!“ Piet Grobler (South Africa) has a whole load of exotic animals up his sleeve. One hot day on the savannah, a thirsty frog takes a big sip from a watering hole. And since it tastes so delicious, he greedily drinks all the water up. No wonder that lion, crocodile and chameleon aren’t too pleased and try every trick in the book to try and get him to spit out the precious liquid. Afterwards, the illustrator will present the amusing cartoon version of his “The Little Bird’s ABC”.
School years: 1-3
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_09.30_children and young adults
Weinmeisterhaus

Illustrations-Workshop with Farshid Shafiee (Iran)
Workshops for pupils
The Iranian illustrator invites children to draw a large image together, with a variety of colours and scenes depicting children’s everyday lives in Berlin.
In Farsi with German translation. School years: 1 x 3-5
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_09.30_children and young adults
Podwil'sches Palais

Alphas, Zeros and the skin colour question. Malorie Blackman’s (UK) novel “Noughts and Crosses“
Workshops for pupils
Is “skin-coloured” the colour of a plaster? In Sephy and Callum’s world, the word “skin-coloured” means “dark brown”; since that is the colour of the Alphas, who possess power and influence. Whoever is not among them – whoever is “white” – is a nought, a zero, a nothing. Even when the government attempts to break down the boundaries between Alphas and Zeros, those boundaries clearly remain in everyone’s heads. Crossing them is harshly punished. And one such crossing of the boundaries is the love between Sephy and Callum, which has to be fought for.
Taking the young people’s novel “Noughts and Crosses” as a starting point, theatrical means of expression will be tried out. Young people investigate prejudices and racist conceptions, and relate them to their own reality. Small groups will rehearse scenes, present and discuss them together – afterwards with the author herself.
Led by: Stefanie Kaluza (Theatre specialist/GRIPS Theatre).
School years: 1 x 9-11
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_10.00_children and young adults
Stiftung Branderburger Tor | Max Liebermann Haus

Readings for pupils
Xosé Antonio Neira Cruz (Spain) will read from his novel for young people entitled “O armiño dorme” (t: The Sleeping Stoat), which takes place in the sixteenth century and, through exciting diary entries, tells the story of the wishes, thoughts and hopes of Bianca de Medici, the illicit daughter of Duke Cosimo I of Florence. The young heroine’s diary – only found after her death, in her coffin - offers a penetrating portrait of her life in a gilded cage, and bears witness to the wishes, thoughts and hopes of a young woman in the sixteenth century.
School years: 8/9
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_10.00_children and young adults
Theater an der Parkaue

Fate, Reality and Fantasy. Meg Rosoff’s (USA/UK) novel “Just in Case”
Workshops for pupils
In Meg Rosoff’s novel “Just in Case", the boundaries between fate, reality and fantasy are constantly blurred. Various realities encroach upon each other, push each other away and overlap. The practical theatre workshop will attempt to stage this literary style. How can different perspectives on events be represented? How can characters on the border of reality and imagination be given real stage presence?
In the first part of the two-day theatre workshop, the school pupils will use extracts from the novel to explore different ways of viewing and portraying reality. A visual presentation will be created, and played out in front of the author. In a discussion with her, the impressions and experiences of the workshops will be a central theme.
Part 1: 26.09.2008, 09.00-13.00
Led by: Kristina Stang (Theatre instructor and dramatist/Theater an der Parkaue).
School years: 1 x 9-11
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_11.00_children and young adults
Die Gelbe Villa

A House gets Visitors. With Beatrice Masini (Italy)
Workshops for pupils
11.00: In her children’s book “Diario di una casa vuota” (t: Diary of an Abandoned House), Beatrice Masini tells of an empty house that comes back to life: one day, when a family comes to view the house, considering to move in, the children Alma and Tim fall for the haunted place. The house observes all the prospective buyers, workers and children, and can even read the thoughts of its visitors...
12.00: Lunch in the children’s and young people’s restaurant “Five Seasons”, run by Berliner Tafel e.V./die gelbe Villa.
12.30: Workshops around Masini’s children’s book: in the cartoon facility, “dream houses” are brought to life, while the painting workshop creates fantastic houses and gardens. As well as an architectural treasure hunt through the internet, children can discover a secret hiding place in the ‘snoezel room’.
For those 9 years and above. School years: 2x 4/5
Lunch: 1 € per child/ Fee for materials: 1 € per child
Reservation via die gelbe Villa on Tel. (030) 76 76 50 12

_11.30_children and young adults
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Seitenbühne

Readings for pupils
John Green (USA) will read from his first novel “Looking for Alaska”: the sixteen-year-old Miles leads a resoundingly normal life, no girlfriend, no friends. But then he goes to boarding school in Alabama and everything changes. He meets the beautiful Alaska and for the first time in his life, falls head over heels in love. He finds himself on a rollercoaster of emotions, starts to philosophise about life, gets drunk, secretly smokes in the shower and writes hip-hop songs. Life could have been so beautiful if only Alaska hadn’t got into the car when she was drunk...
School years: 9-11
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_13.30_children and young adults
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Seitenbühne

Readings for pupils
The poet, performer, actress and presenter Lebogang Mashile (South Africa) will read from her collection of poetry “In a Ribbon of Rhythm”. Her pugnacious poems speak of life in the new South Africa. The variety and unity of the “Rainbow Nation”, the position of women, violence and the fragility of individuality are powerfully dealt with as central themes. Lebogang Mashile is a guest in “Focus Africa”.
In English. School years: 11-13
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_14.00_children and young adults
Fliegendes Theater

Makwelane and the Crocodile. An African Little Red Riding-Hood by Piet Grobler (Südafrika)
Workshops for pupils
The little Makwelane (Little Red Riding Hood!) adores her musical instrument, the African Makwelane. One day, when she sets off along the riverbank to visit her grandmother Gogo, she disregards the warning of her parents and completely forgets that the hungry crocodile lives in the river. Thankfully, Makwelane has her instrument with her, and she manages to save herself and her grandmother from the gaping maw of the malicious crocodile.
In the two-day-long workshop that takes place in school and in the “Fliegendes Theater”, children will study the Grimm tale and consider the South African author’s interpretation. Masks and musical instruments will be made, and used in today’s performance.
Project dates: 26.09. / 29.09.2008, both days at 9.00-12.00
Today: Meeting with Piet Grobler
Led by: Edelgard Hansen (Fliegendes Theater)
Participation in 2-day project: 3 € per child.
School years: 1x 3/4
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_16.00_children and young adults
GRIPS Theater

Bringing books to life Workshop for secondary school literature teachers for Sek. 1+2
Children’s and Youth Literature for adults
How can theatrical scenes originate from a literary text? How does one enter into a text? How can texts be made more exciting for school pupils? What stories can be invented around a text? Literature is made livelier for pupils by using a variety of theatrical methods. The workshop for teachers (school years six and above), librarians and teachers of literature is focused on the works of John Green (USA) and Meg Rosoff (USA/UK), both authors of books for children and young people, as well as those of the children‘s book illustrators Stian Hole (Norway) and Einar Turkowski (Germany), who will be guests in the workshop in the Schiller Theatre on Wednesday 1st October at 18.00.
Led by: Stefanie Kaluza (drama instructor/GRIPS Theatre).
Meeting point: foyer of the GRIPS Theatre. Free entry. Reservation required. Tel: (030) 27 87 86 66

_18.00_reflections
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Foyer

Stadtwelt_Weltstadt: Lagos. Omar Akbar (Germany), Helon Habila (Nigeria/USA)
Presented by: Marie Neumüllers
“People see Lagos as a dangerous place. Almost as if it were a living thing, a beast that devours you.” This is how Nigerian author Helon Habila describes the way that the biggest city in his country – and one of the biggest on the continent – is perceived by most people. Is Lagos typical for urban development in the 21st century? Are these examples of urban agglomeration still liveable cities? The author will hold a discussion with the director of Bauhaus, researcher and urbanist, Omar Akbar.
In cooperation with the Bauhaus Foundation, Dessau

_19.00_speak, memory
Institut français

Amadou Hampâté Bâ: The Strange Destiny of Wangrin
Introduction: Hartmut Diekmann
Reader: Floriane Daniel
“In Africa, when an old man dies, a library burns”. Throughout the course of his long life, Amadou Hampâté Bâ (Mali 1900-1991) recounted histories and legends about the old men of his country. He was one of the few who knew how to put the fire out before it started. He teaches his hero Wangrin not to cut himself off too much from his African roots and not to succumb to the temptations of the European commercial world. A modern notion: to accept another culture, without abandoning one’s own.

_19.30_Focus Africa
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Große Bühne

Alaa al-Aswani (Egypt)
Presented by: Inge Zenker-Baltes
Reader: Frank Arnold
The author of the international bestseller “The Yacoubian Building” will be reading from his latest novel. In “Chicago”, Aswany deals with the coexistence of different cultures, and depicts anew the injustices of his homeland under autocratic rule. The action is set in the Histological Institute at the University of Illinois, Chicago, where Americans of different backgrounds and Egyptians cross paths.

_19.45_Focus Africa
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Foyer

Helon Habila (Nigeria/USA)
Presented by: Flora Veit-Wild
Reader: Katja Zinsmeister
“I came to Lagos to find a job, to start a new life. That was the reason for me to choose a new name. Diaz”. Looking for work, the young hero in Habila’s short story, “The Hotel Malogo”, instead finds a new friend, Papa John, a fun-loving former railroad worker living clearly above his means. The cheerfulness does darken, calculated in moments of great joy... In 2001 Helon Habila won the prestigious Caine Prize for African Literature. His literary début, “Waiting for an Angel”, was awarded the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book (Africa Region) and is currently being adapted for film. He will be presenting his latest story, “The Hotel Malogo”, which takes place in Lagos.

_19:00_reflections
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Seitenbühne

Güner Yasemin Balci (Germany)
Presented by: Arno Widmann
Rashid, the son of a Lebanese-Palestinian family, is “Arabboy”, as he calls himself in the chat rooms where he and his friends post violent homemade video clips. Rashid continues his criminal career until he loses control of his life through drug addiction. But then his imprisonment saves him. In jail he awaits his deportation – and Germany, that accursed country, becomes the epitome of all longing for him. Balci knows what she’s writing about. The current editor of the ZDF magazine Frontal 21, she works with children from Turkish and Arabic families in the Rollberg district of Neukölln.

_20.00_literature of the world
Dresdner Bank

Ilija Trojanow (Bulgaria/Germany)
Presented by: Sigrid Löffler
Iljia Trojanow is at home in all the continents: like his role models Ryszard Kapuczinski and Egon Erwin Kisch, he is happiest when travelling. What Trojanow explains goes far beyond the beauty of landscapes or the foreignness of customs. He explains how people live: in an Africa that never rests, in Indian mega-cities that surpass all notions or in other Asian countries, that have been struck by natural disasters and are threatened by political unrest. Curious, open-minded, critical and self-critical – with Ilija Trojanow, one sees the world in a different light.
Closed Event

_20.30_literature of the world
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Seitenbühne

Natalka Sniadanko (Ukraine)
Presented by: Bernhard Robben
Sniadanko’s novel “Collection of Passions” has cult status in the Ukraine. The story, tinged with traces of the author’s autobiography, tells of the emotional states that the young Oljessa experiences in a fresh tone and with satirical cadence. Both curious and headstrong, the adolescent explores the possibilities that life opens up to her.

_21.00_Focus Africa
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Foyer

Boualem Sansal (Algeria)
Presented by: Barbara Wahlster
Reader: Max Volkert Martens
Boualem Sansal, award-winning author and previous guest at the international literature festival in 2003 and 2004, will be reading from his novel “Harraga“. Lamia, a well-off and unmarried paediatrician who has come to terms with her simple life, and Chérifa, a defiant young woman, full of joie de vivre and rebelliousness against the customs of the Islamic world, are the main characters in a milieu that is dominated by the authoritative and the masculine.

_21.00_speak, memory
Institut français

Ousman Sembene: Ceddo (film projection)
Presented by: Hartmut Diekmann
Ousman Sembene (Senegal, 1923-2007) studied these themes: power, its growth, its limits. He pursued the power of religion and was in turn pursued by the political powers-that-be. In both areas his interest is clear: to record the object’s state prior to its deformation. This occurs most penetratingly in “Ceddo”, a hunt for West African culture prior to Islamic missionaries. A work of dangerously explosive nature, which president Senghor honoured by banning it.

_21:45_literature of the world
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Seitenbühne

Milton Hatoum (Brazil)
Presented by: Michi Strausfeld
Reader: Roland Schäfer
In his third novel, "Cinzas do Norte", Hatoum tells the story of two friends – the artistically inclined son of an entrepreneur, Mundo, who rebels against the military regime and his hateful father, and the orphan boy Olavo, who follows the path to becoming a lawyer. In this account of the lives of two Brazilian boys, the author also portraits the history of his country over several decades and condemns the dictatorship and the modernisation it has forced upon Brazil.