Voku for Maria Cristina

By: börek - March 6th, 2026  Filed under: Benefiet, Volkseten/Voku

Monday March 9, 2026, Voku for Maria Cristina. Second edition, food served from 7pm, no reservation.

Call out for solidarity with our trans sister María Cristina

We are calling for solidarity on behalf of our friend and sister María Cristina, who is currently being held in custody in the Stadelheim prison in Munich! María Cristina was violently arrested as a Black trans migrant woman. As always, the racist and transphobic judicial system is particularly structured against queer BPoCs (Black and People of Color). Individuals such as Maria Cristina find themselves in extremely precarious and unprotected situations.
At this moment, we know little about the accusations held against her and her current conditions. She is being detained in the male section of the prison. For a trans woman, this is a violent act and puts her in acute danger of physical, mental and emotional unsafety. She might also be more vulnerable because of her immigration status. Maria is such an important person to many in our community, she is an amazing housemate, friend and great cook and she makes life so much brighter for all of us. Our heart is hurting knowing that she is detained and we are very worried for her.
We are organizing letters of solidarity for Maria Christina, please write some warm words – preferably in Spanish, but English is also possible. Put the letter in the feedback box or behind the bar at the lesbian-queer center Lez (Müllerstrasse 26, Thursday 18-22 h, Friday and Saturday 18-23 h) or in the queer feminist bookstore Glitch (Barerstr. 70, Tuesday – Saturday, 11-19 h). You can also post letters to both addresses!
If you are not able to send post you can also send your letters to careemiko [at] gmail [dot] com and we will make them arrive.
If you can, please also donate some money, which we will send to her in prison or use for the costs of the lawyer.
Paypal: libertad_para_maria_kristina [at] posteo [dot] de or bank transfer to Libertad para Maria Kristina, IBAN: DE32 5003 1000 1087 9710 11 […Lees verder]

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Voku for Maria Cristina

By: börek - February 17th, 2026  Filed under: Benefiet, Volkseten/Voku

Thursday February 19, 2026, Voku for Maria Cristina. Food served from 7pm, no reservation.

Call out for solidarity with our trans sister María Cristina

We are calling for solidarity on behalf of our friend and sister María Cristina, who is currently being held in custody in the Stadelheim prison in Munich! María Cristina was violently arrested as a Black trans migrant woman. As always, the racist and transphobic judicial system is particularly structured against queer BPoCs (Black and People of Color). Individuals such as Maria Cristina find themselves in extremely precarious and unprotected situations.
At this moment, we know little about the accusations held against her and her current conditions. She is being detained in the male section of the prison. For a trans woman, this is a violent act and puts her in acute danger of physical, mental and emotional unsafety. She might also be more vulnerable because of her immigration status. Maria is such an important person to many in our community, she is an amazing housemate, friend and great cook and she makes life so much brighter for all of us. Our heart is hurting knowing that she is detained and we are very worried for her.
We are organizing letters of solidarity for Maria Christina, please write some warm words – preferably in Spanish, but English is also possible. Put the letter in the feedback box or behind the bar at the lesbian-queer center Lez (Müllerstrasse 26, Thursday 18-22 h, Friday and Saturday 18-23 h) or in the queer feminist bookstore Glitch (Barerstr. 70, Tuesday – Saturday, 11-19 h). You can also post letters to both addresses!
If you are not able to send post you can also send your letters to careemiko [at] gmail [dot] com and we will make them arrive.
If you can, please also donate some money, which we will send to her in prison or use for the costs of the lawyer.
Paypal: libertad_para_maria_kristina [at] posteo [dot] de or bank transfer to Libertad para Maria Kristina, IBAN: DE32 5003 1000 1087 9710 11 […Lees verder]

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Cinerevolt, two films by Harun Farocki: The Inextinguishable Fire (1969) and Eine Sache, die sich versteht (1971)

By: börek - April 17th, 2025  Filed under: Filmavond

Sunday April 20, 2025, Cinerevolt: 2 films by Harun Farocki, The Inextinguishable Fire (1969) and Eine Sache, die sich versteht (1971) * doors open at 20:00 * intro & first film starts at 20:30.
This month Cinerevolt returns to highlight the experimental and propagandistic work of German filmmaker Harun Farocki.

The Inextinguishable Fire (1969)

“When we show you pictures of napalm victims, you’ll shut your eyes. You’ll close your eyes to the pictures. Then you’ll close them to the memory. And then you’ll close your eyes to the facts.”

These words are spoken at the beginning of an agitprop film that can be viewed as a unique and remarkable development. Farocki refrains from making any sort of emotional appeal. His point of departure is the following: “When napalm is burning, it is too late to extinguish it. You have to fight napalm where it is produced: in the factories.”

Resolutely, Farocki names names: the manufacturer is Dow Chemical, based in Midland, Michigan in the United States. Against backdrops suggesting the laboratories and offices of this corporation, the film then proceeds to educate us with an austerity reminiscent of Jean Marie Straub. Farocki’s development unfolds: “(1) A major corporation is like a construction set. It can be used to put together the whole world. (2) Because of the growing division of labor, many people no longer recognize the role they play in producing mass destruction. (3) That which is manufactured in the end is the product of the workers, students, and engineers.”

Eine Sache, die sich versteht (1971)

One thing that goes without saying is an educational film about a section of political economy. The subject matter of instruction is the concepts of use value, exchange value, commodity, labor power; they are intended to initiate the process of understanding the labor theory of value and the law of value, alienation and fetish.

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Free entrance. You want to screen a movie, let us know: joe [at] lists [dot] squat [dot] net

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Cinerevolt: Commando 52 (1965) & The Laughing Man (1966) by Walter Heynowski & Gerhard Scheumann

By: börek - February 14th, 2025  Filed under: Filmavond

Sunday February 23, 2025, Cinerevolt #2: Commando 52 (1965, 37 min) & The Laughing Man (1966, 66 min), two films by Walter Heynowski & Gerhard Scheumann * doors open at 20:00 * intro & first film starts at 20:30.

Today we hear of the Congo by means of its minerals first, and its people second. One determines the other: cobalt means poverty, gold means war, diamonds mean repression. There was a time when this dynamic was challenged, as Patrice Lumumba did when he asked “all Congolese citizens, men, women and children, to set themselves resolutely to the task of creating a national economy and ensuring our economic independence”. Nominal independence is no problem, economic independence is unforgivable. Mere months after taking office, Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was removed from office, kidnapped, and eventually assassinated with the support of the American, British, and Belgian intelligence agencies. In the imperialist war on Congolese self-determination, brutal merdenaries came down upon the Lumumbaist rebels of the Simba and Kwilu rebellions. It is upon these agents of destruction, the mercenaries, that Heynowski and Scheumann train their lens. The two East-German filmmakers first made Commando 52, a short documentary combining still photographs taken of the mercenaries in Congo with interviews and voice over narration. The second film, The Laughing Man, was made by posing as West-German journalists in order to interview Siegfried Muller. The film consists of this single interview with Muller, a Nazi-turned-mercenary charged with the destruction of Lumumbaist rebels. Together these two films paint a sinister portrait of the perpetrators of these atrocities and the narratives they live in, and demonstrate clearly the direct translation of Nazism into American & NATO imperialism.

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Free entrance. You want to screen a movie, let us know: joe [at] lists [dot] squat [dot] net

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Benefit voku to support a political prisoner & letter writing

By: börek - November 12th, 2024  Filed under: Benefiet, Volkseten/Voku

Thursday November 14, 2024, Benefit voku to support a political prisoner & letter writing. Food served from 7pm, no reservation.

Come along for this voku, where we’ll be cooking to raise money for a political prisoner in the U.S. We will also provide the opportunity to write letters to them and other political prisoners.

We will share information on the so-called Budapest Antifascists, who are facing charges in relation to the ‘Ehretag’ (translation. honour day), the largest yearly gathering of neo-nazis in Europe, that took place in Budapest in February 2023. One of the arrestees has been extradited from Germany to Hungary, and the other person is facing extradition.

Our benefit will support Casey Goonan, an American anarchist facing 5-20 years in federal prison for the alleged firebombing of a UC Berkeley police vehicle. A campaign has been set up to support Casey, spread the word about their case and raise money for legal costs. An anonymous communique posted to Indybay took credit for the action in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance and university occupations throughout California. Casey was arrested in June, more than two weeks after the alleged arson. They are being held in federal custody in Santa Rita jail in California and are facing the highest federal charges in relation to the pro-Palestine movement in the U.S. so far.

Casey has a long history of organizing mutual aid in Chicago and supporting prisoners throughout the so called United States. They continue to study and organize behind bars and have already engaged in a hunger strike to demand better conditions for their cellmates.

Updates from the Casey Support Committee
– update from July 13, 2024 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2024/07/16/18868038.php
– update from August 12, 2024 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2024/08/13/18868663.php

Come eat to show solidarity, write letters and learn more about these cases.
[…Lees verder]

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Can Dialectics Break Bricks Cinema: Changing Skins (Andreas Dresen, 1997)

By: börek - February 1st, 2024  Filed under: Filmavond

Sunday 4 February 2024, Can Dialectics Break Bricks Cinema: RAUS AUS DER HAUT * 1997 * (Changing Skins) * Directed by Andreas Dresen * 90 minutes * In German with English subtitles * free screening * doors open at 8pm * intro & film start at 8.30

The setting is mid 1970s East Germany, and our story revolves around two high school students, Anna and Marcus, who are inspired by news reports coming from West Germany. What are they excited by? Some new product on the western market, or a Hollywood film? No, they are captivated by the real-life terrorists Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof who were robbing banks and kidnapping corporate executives. When their teacher threatens to demote them, which would prevent them from entering university because of their unruly behavior, they decide to drug their teacher, kidnap him, and keep him hostage in a cellar until after they graduate. This little gem is a ‘feel-good’ terrorist film by the East German director Andreas Dresen. It is a romance, but with a sharp wit and sense of humor. Personally, I adore this little gem, and it’s totally unknown.

After the fall of the Berlin wall, few directors from the former East bloc were able to make films in the new ‘united’ Germany. They were mostly run out of the industry, and thrown into unemployment. They were treated as if they had been contaminated by the plague. Andreas Dresen is one of the few voices in cinema that can accurately portray the life and dreams of his former East bloc GDR. And he does this with magic and charm…. and in the process he dispels many of the myths people in the West have about East Germany.

This is a mind-opening flick, with a series of wild twists and turns, but also a down-to-earth sense of humanity that was typical of the GDR. Here there is no trace of the arrogance of big-budget American movies that seem fueled by cocaine and cash. This is a low budget flick with a beautiful sensibility. Even within Germany this film is extremely difficult to see, and outside Germany it is utterly unknown. That makes this an extremely rare screening of this discreet masterpiece.

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Free entrance. You want to screen a movie, let us know: joe [at] lists [dot] squat [dot] net

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Benefit voku for Lützerath

By: börek - January 8th, 2023  Filed under: Benefiet, Volkseten/Voku

Thursday 19 January 2023, Benefit voku for Lützerath. Food served from 7pm, no reservation.

The small village in Germany called Lützerath is located on coal, which the cooperation RWE wants to burn. This would break the Paris climate agreement because not burning this coal will help ensure the 1.5 degrees goal.
Thousands of riot police marched into Lützerath and cleared the last activists from the village. At the protest on Saturday 14 january 2023, police violence was brutal. There are several reports of severe head injuries. The demonstration paramedics tried to help the people who were injured at the protest.
Due to the massive material consumption, they need money. The money we collect with the meals will be donated to the demonstration paramedics of Düsseldorf. We are looking forward to seeing you at Joey’s Garage on Thursday.
sources: Demosanis Düsseldorf, Lützerath Lebt https://luetzerathlebt.info/

Volkseten Vegazulu is a people’s kitchens existing since the very beginning of Joe’s Garage, June 2005. Your donations are welcome. Food is vegan, no reservation. All benefits go to social & political struggles. Joe’s Garage is a space run by volunteers. Without a collective effort, without your active participation, we’re remaining closed. Get in touch in you feel like giving a hand. We’re always looking for cooks. Any help is welcome in the kitchen. Experience not required. If you want to know which days are still available, mail us.

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Can Dialectics Break Bricks Cinema: Divided Heaven (Konrad Wolf, 1964), GDR series

By: börek - August 31st, 2022  Filed under: Filmavond

Sunday 11 September 2022, Can Dialectics Break Bricks Cinema: Divided Heaven / Der geteilte Himmel (GDR series), 1964 adaptation of Christa Wolf’s novel by Konrad Wolf, 109 minutes, in German with English subtitles. Doors open at 20:00, film starts at 20:30.

This film is part of the GDR / Why Women Had Better Sex under Socialism series

Based on the famous novel by Christa Wolf about two lovers who are torn apart as the Berlin Wall is about to be constructed, dividing the country in two. Rita has a lover, but over the course of their relationship it becomes clear they have different political points of view. The movie is great in laying out excellent arguments for both sides… the socialist East Bloc and the consumer-orientated West.

The film embraces the structure of the novel, which begins with a woman waking up in a hospital, and through flashbacks, recounts the recent events that got her there. This wild structure matches well with the film’s French New Wave feel. It is often quite experimental – using angular photography and scenes overlapping between the present moment and the past. The cinematography is crystalline, with an endless array of exquisitely composed black-and-white images. The soundtrack is also bold, with an experimental electronic music score giving the story a modern, ‘in transition’ sort of mood.

It makes sense that since each character is a different gender, they make different decisions. In the West men are in control and have more advantages… and Rita stays in the East where there was much more gender equality. But the real argument is much more than that, it is more about if a person should fight for a cause, or just live as easy as possible.

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Free entrance. You want to screen a movie, let us know: joe [at] lists [dot] squat [dot] net

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