Paris opens a door to exiled artists from Syria,Afghanistan
PARIS: While Syrian director Samer Salameh knew he was putting himself at risk by making a film about his devastated Damascus neighborhood of Yarmouk — once described as “the worst place on earth” by aid agencies — while serving as an army conscript.
It was when Kubra Khademi stopped the traffic in Kabul, and men began to throw stones at her and bay for her blood, that she knew she was going to have to leave the country.
The young performance artist had walked alone into one of the Afghan capital’s busiest intersections to highlight the harassment women face.
“I had to hide out in Kabul until they could get me away,” she told AFP of her flight to France.
Both artists eventually made it to the French capital, which a half century after it was last the prime destination for writers and artists fleeing oppression, is again becoming a haven for emigres.
In a working-class district of northern Paris, a drop-in center has been helping some 200 artists find their feet in France since October.
The Studio of Artists in Exile does not pretend to be a panacea for the problems artists face when they suddenly find themselves “a fish out of water” in a new country.
But, despite operating on a shoestring budget and in donated premises, it can help artists navigate the maze of relaunching their careers, said co-founder Judith Depaule.
“In ways France is attractive for artists and easier for them to work in because, unlike Germany — where you have either the underground or subsidised state art organizations, — in France there is a lot in-between,” she said.
Getting to France allowed Syrian-Palestinian Salameh to finish his film showing the fate of Yarmouk during the war — “194. Us, Children of the Camp.” It has since been shown at festivals in Europe.
Yet even for a 32-year-old, the adaptation to a new life has not been painless.
“It is quite weird but even during a war your homeland can feel easier, softer, because it is your country, your language,” Salameh told AFP.
“Here is quite tough. It’s a big capital, you see people living in the street, it can be scary sometimes. There are lots of opportunities but a lot of competition as well. But I am OK, and I am starting to have some ideas to do films here now.”