Symposium Panel 8: Solidarity in/and the archive

One of the challenges of the current archival moment is the creation of collectives and networks beyond restrictive notions of citizenship and the dynamics of self-contained (which often means: self-centered) institutions. How do we create and sustain such relationships and bonds of cooperation to salvage archives, make their contents accessible and harness their epistemic and affective potentials? Friendships facilitate cooperation, but the current moment requires more inclusive collectivities. Revisiting and rethinking the concept of solidarity, which played an important role in the creation of archives such as the collection of the Arsenal, offers an avenue towards the (re)creation of what we might call networks of friendship at scale.

Jihan El-Tahri an award-winning film producer/director, visual artist, and writer. She has been a member of The Academy (Oscars) since 2017 and has directed more than 15 films, mostly archive based. Her visual art exhibitions have traveled to renowned museums and biennales around the world. Her writings include many essays in major publications and has published books with Penguin and Grasset. She mentors in various film and art labs. El-Tahri serves on various boards, including IDA, PFI, FEPACI, and The Guild of Filmmakers in the Diaspora.

Elizabeth Ramírez-Soto is Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies in the School of the Arts at Columbia University. Her areas of research include transnational cinema and television, feminist film histories, documentary studies, and archival politics. She is interested in the interconnections between state violence, forced migration, and transnational modes of production, with a focus on Latin America. As a film curator, she has programmed several screenings related to her academic work.

Marc Siegel is Professor of Film Studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. His current research focuses on anti-Palestinian racism. He is the editor of the bilingual book What’s Underground About Marshmallows? Texts by and about Jack Smith (Alexander Verlag, 2026) and co-editor of Serge Daney and Queer Cinephilia (meson press, 2024). He is also a member of the Berlin-based CHEAP art collective and the Association of Palestinian and Jewish Academics in German-speaking countries (PJA).

Laliv Melamed (Professor of Digital Film Culture at the Goethe University, Frankfurt)

Moderation: Vinzenz Hediger (Head of Cinémathèque Suisse, Lausanne)