Today from 18:00-21.00 hrs, the UvA Film Club will continue their weekly screening in HVL/BuzzHouse’s Co-Working Space! This week's film is Concerning Violence (Göran Olsson, 2014), with an introduction by Bastian Baak. In Collaboration with Radical Organisation of Students in Amsterdam (ROSA) and UVA Intifada.
Concerning Violence depicts various decolonial movements and armed struggles in Africa during the mid-20th century. The documentary is based on archival footage from the 1960s and 1970s, primarily sourced from Swedish television archives. These visuals are paired with Frantz Fanon's work, 'The Wretched of the Earth' (1961), specifically the chapter titled "Concerning Violence.”, and is narrated by US artist and activist Lauryn Hill. It is structured as a series of nine chapters, each focusing on different aspects of anti-colonial resistance and the broader context of colonial violence, oppression, and exploitation.
Concerning Violence received critical acclaim for its bold storytelling and its ability to connect historical struggles to contemporary issues of race, power, and inequality. It was praised for its use of archival material and its unflinching portrayal of the harsh realities of colonialism. It excellently illustrates how decolonial struggles can turn to violence in order to reach their goals, and that it is often justified to use any means necessary to free the oppressed peoples of the world.
This documentary therefore teaches us a lesson about decolonial movements and the moral ambiguities of resistance. It also lets us reflect on how we view current struggles against imperialism, especially regarding Palestine. With the current events unfolding in Palestine, and the urgent need for international support of the Palestinian resistance movement against zionism, it seems like a good time to screen this documentary at the UVA Film Club.
About UvA Intifada
UvA Intifada is a student organisation, fighting for an academic boycott at the University of Amsterdam in solidarity with the Palestinian people. As students at the UvA, we are working to pressure the University of Amsterdam to cut all ties with zionist institutions, and divest from all zionist companies and their allies.
