Hybrid film as a cinematic expression for diasporic existence in Denmark

We feel a need to move beyond talking about the causes and consequences of misrepresentation towards instead generating new knowledge and developing artistic and didactic strategies that do not place oppression at the center.

The project explores the hybrid genre's potential for representing diasporic minorities in Denmark.

Period: November 2024 - November 2025.

How can we identify artistic and collective strategies that process emotions and challenge narratives of identity in contemporary society?

This KUV project explores whether diasporic existence in Denmark can find a fitting cinematic expression in the hybrid genre, and if fictional and documentary traits have an untapped potential to represent emotional aspects of diasporic experiences.

The group behind the project consists of Haena Laura Na, Ribka M. Pattinama Coleman and Cat Pattinama Coleman, who in different ways belong to the diaspora, and in their separate practices they have all portrayed people who find themselves between several cultures.

The project stems from a need for an improved representation of racial minorities in our time. In a Danish context, the medialization of ethnic minorities is characterized by significant under- and misrepresentation. This creates a pronounced need for other forms of representation of this group. Much discourse on representation tends to point to the oppressive structures that cause lack of or misrepresentation. Central to the project is a desire for research and knowledge creation to go a step further and develop artistic and didactic strategies that do not only place oppression at the center.

Our study into to hybrid film as a genre rests on the shoulders of other researchers and cultural theorists who have dealt with the cultural ramifications of the diaspora in their art, and who use contemporary Denmark as a context. In general, the hybrid genre is a growing narrative form in the Danish film landscape today and the study therefore also speaks to a growing interest in a genre that is under-researched.

Similarly, the project aims to establish international collaborations in the Global South that will provide insight into local approaches to collective filmmaking and cultural interpretations of the hybrid genre.

Haena Laura Na, Ribka M. Pattinama Coleman og Cat Pattinama Coleman

Haena Laura Na holds a degree in journalism from the University of Southern Denmark and a degree in visual anthropology from Freie Universität in Berlin. She has been working on issues of representation and how storytelling can drive social change for a number of years. Whether teaching, working visually, with sound or communication, Haena is devoted to giving voice to overheard experiences and to creating a critical and caring practice in fields traditionally characterized by colonial structures.

Ribka M. Pattinama Coleman is a student at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and works with themes of care, resistance, mythology and the influence of colonialism on culture in Denmark, Indonesia and Maluku, which she analyzes through prisms such as food, “trade” and everyday life. Ribka is interested in how those of us living as part of the diaspora often re-appropriate our long-lost cultural heritage.

Cat Pattinama Coleman graduated from The National Film School of Denmark in 2015 and works professionally as a cinematographer on documentaries, feature films and art films. Cat has dedicated her cinematic practice to the portrayal of minority characters in our time and to promoting diversity in the Danish film industry. Cat is also a teacher at the cinematography program at the National Film School of Denmark.