Heimaten Festival explores belonging and homeland with concerts, film screenings and discussions at HKW. The German word “Heimat” describes a feeling of being at home. But it also has a darker meaning, one which nativist politicians and movements have used to exclude minorities who, they say, can never call Germany their home. Opening next Friday (12.09.2025) at HKW, the Heimaten Festival turns this idea on its head: Heimat isn’t about being anchored to the fatherland, but a shifting sense of belonging that crosses borders. The program runs until December and spans concerts, debates, workshops and screenings across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. At the kick-off at HKW, hip hop collective BSMG host a night of resistance through music, tackling colonial legacies and the global rightward shift (12.09 20h30). Following this on 13.09 is the panel talk Is the Diversity Party Over?, asking how anti-racist initiatives can survive political hostility and shrinking state funding.
Meanwhile, colonial injustices are brought into focus at the screening of The Empty Grave, a documentary that follows Tanzanian families searching for ancestors’ remains taken under German rule (14.09 17h30). Beyond HKW, Berlin Postkolonial and activist Mnyaka Sururu Mboro will be leading a series of Witness Walks through Berlin, confronting the city’s colonial past (throughout September and October). Together, the events reimagine Heimat, pointing to a future that’s less fatherland and more flux.
Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Philipp Czampiel, Jonas Lumke & Hanna Wiedemann
Heimaten Festival runs at HKW and other venues from September to December 2025. You can view the full program of free events as well as a list of the festival’s network members on the website.
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