Adeeb Hadi & Maddy Kennard

Feathers

Feathers, when they fall, do not choose to leave the bird's body. As they swirl to the ground, whether into chaos, or safety, they are taken by the force of the wind. They have no choice where to land, nor how to land there. What is the meaning of "Homeland" for feathers? The concept of home is different for everyone, but how is it altered when you are displaced from the place you were born or where you grew up? In this two part film series, we explore the concept of home through the eyes of two students, Hesham Moadamani and Khalil Hammod. 

In our class we studied migration patterns, some specific to Germany, others European or global. We studied the works of European writers and historians, encountering both artistic and historically specific renderings of migrations both past and present. Combining our personal experience and interest with contemporary migration, we created a project in an effort to convey a nuanced understanding of the lives of displaced peoples as global citizens, and as people with agency rather than nameless, faceless figures who represent a massive group of people. We hope these films give a sense to the multitudinous stories of the “modern refugee” and their complicated relationships with the romanticized notion of home.