Where I Belong Panel Discussion
Please note: This event took place in March 2021
Women, nature, privilege and taking up space
The Feminista Film Festival 2021 short film selection responded to the emerging themes of belonging, looking in particular at women's connection to nature and wildness, something that has seemed increasingly important during the pandemic.
Please join us for a panel discussion, chaired by film programmer Rebecca Ballard, with some inspiring women who will share their responses to the programme as well as their own stories. We will explore some of the themes emerging from the films in connection to a sense of belonging, spaces that can feel hard to belong, and the barriers to accessing outdoor space and activities that happen there.
Guest speakers include Nkiru Okafor, member of Swim Dem Crew, Carole Wright - founder of Blak Outside Festival and Sarah Barnes, co-founder of WE GROW COLOUR.
Speaker biographies:
Nkiru Okafor has fallen back in love with swimming, but speaks to feeling unwelcome in the pool, and the oppressive whiteness of training for a Triathlon. She will be sharing her poem 'Swimming Whilst Black' with us which she wrote in response to Swim Dem Crew's hashtag of the same name.
Carole Wright is the founder of Blak Outside festival, project manager, community gardener, beekeeper, and proud South Londoner with a degree a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design who hails from Brixton. Now living in Southwark, Carole dedicates herself to improving the community she lives within. She said, “My family instilled in me the motto ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. I've carried that ethos throughout my whole adult life.”
Sarah Barnes is the co-founder of WE GROW COLOUR - a micro scale cut flower business that she runs with her husband Rory Francis. They grow uplifting, seasonal, colourful flowers and herbs using organic methods from their Bristol city garden and wild patch on the banks of the Malago River. WE GROW COLOUR's core values centre around people, wellbeing and the environment, which is why all of their packaging is recyclable, flowers are naturally grown and dried, and delivered around the city on an electric bike. 10% of WE GROW COLOUR's profits are donated monthly to organisations advocating for the wellbeing of marginalised communities.
