Panel discussion: Laughter Strikes Back - Subversive Humor in Turbulent Times
Thursday, 25. 9. 2025 at 14.00 / Vetrinj mansion, big hall
This interdisciplinary discussion explores comedy as a subversive tool across political and artistic contexts. Artists, curators, and theorists will examine how satire, parody, and irony function in democracies under strain, war-torn societies, and censored states – revealing humor’s dual role as a critique of power and a covert resistance tactic. Drawing from historical and contemporary examples in visual arts, cinema, comics, and grassroots movements, the panel investigates how laughter fosters solidarity and challenges oppression through creative disobedience.
The discussion is moderated by Michał Bobrowski (Programme Director)
Panelists:
Zulfikar Filandra (1989) is a Bosnian filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist currently working as Archival Curator at HfG Karlsruhe. Educated in Dublin, Sarajevo and Karlsruhe, he collaborates with mainstream institutions while remaining active in Sarajevo's underground scene. His films include Big Leap (2018, Berlinale Talents) and the recently completed Victory (2024), currently screening at European festivals. He maintains multiple artistic projects simultaneously.
Pedro Rivero (1969, Bilbao) is a screenwriter, director, and producer specializing in darkly satirical animation and live-action films. He co-created Netflix’s dystopian hit The Platform (2019) and its 2024 sequel, alongside his acclaimed animations Birdboy (2012 Goya) and Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (2017, Goya Award). As Artistic Director of ANIMAKOM Fest and former president of the Basque Screenwriters’ Guild (2002–2008), he champions bold storytelling.
Mohammad Saba’aneh is an award-winning Palestinian illustrator and commentator. In 2024, he received the prestigious Swedish EWK Award. His political illustrations have been published in the collection Black and White: Political Cartoons from Palestine, and in 2022, his graphic novel detailing his prison experience, Power Born of Dreams: My Story is Palestine, was awarded the Palestinian Book Award. Mohammad is also a lecturer at the Arab American University in Ramallah, in the illegally occupied West Bank. Last year also saw the publication of 30 seconds from Gaza, a book of his illustrated commentaries on the genocide in Gaza.
Anastasiya Verlinska joined the team of the LINOLEUM animation festival as a program coordinator in 2014, and she became its director in 2016. Apart from the festival, Anastasiya organizes screenings of both international and Ukrainian animation, as well as educational projects that help develop the local animation industry. She also works as an expert at the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and the Ukrainian State Film Agency.
