“Why did you choose acting? Do you know that?”
“One reality, I believe, is very much like this: it’s like an escape. So, I had this impulse to run away, to avoid confrontation, to no longer have to see the pain. And I think that theater makes that possible. When you work on projects, you’re always working on a new reality, always on a new character, on a new story, and you can leave the other behind.”
— Ruben Sabel
Synopsis
The documentary film “What Kind of Story Would That Be” sheds light on the challenges faced by and the empowerment of marginalized and racialized individuals in theater.
Activists and artists Max Czollek, Sarah Fartuun Heinze, Mable Preach, and many others talk with the young actor Ruben Sabel about diversification processes, the reproduction of discriminatory violence, and the limited narrative perspectives on theater stages. They criticize the prevailing white, cis-heteronormative German-speaking theater canon and explore possibilities for self-realization, breaking free from these structures, and resisting the white gaze. They discuss the power of coming together, theater as a place of longing, the creation of more inclusive and equitable artistic spaces, and how to shut down capitalism in a minute. What kind of story would that be?
A 30-minute documentary film featuring Max Czollek, Sarah Fartuun Heinze, Necati Öziri, Mable Preach, Hanh Mai Thi Tran, Estera Sara Stan, Eike N.A. Onyambu, David Paraschiv, Nora Patyk, Katalina Götz, and Ruben Sabel.
Protagonists
Estera Sara Stan is a 21-year-old Romni from Romania. She has been living in Berlin since 2010 and is a prospective student of education. She has been working in the acting industry for several years and is a trained KURINGA. Estera is actively engaged in fighting racism against Sinti and Roma and conducts workshops on this topic in schools and youth clubs. She is currently working with various Roma and Sinti associations.
David Paraschiv is a Romani from Romania who has been living in Berlin since 2015. He is a childcare worker, studies Social Work, and serves as a member of the Jury at the Youth Theatre Meeting. For several years, he has been actively working against racism towards Sinti and Roma. He works at RomaTrial e.V., a transcultural Roma self-organization, where he is involved in the educational program against antigypsyism, “WE ARE HERE!”. Additionally, he is engaged in the youth empowerment project “Kaštenca & Barenca” and the Alliance against Antigypsyism and for Roma Empowerment, “BARE”. His primary goal is for Roma and Sinti to speak for themselves.
Max Czollek, born in 1987, is an author living in Berlin. He is a co-editor of the magazine Jalta – Positions on Contemporary Jewish Life and a curator for the Coalition for a Pluralistic Public Discourse (CPPD), which advocates for a pluralistic culture of remembrance. Since 2023, he has been hosting a discussion series at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin. In 2024, he served as the DAAD Distinguished Chair in Contemporary Poetics at New York University (NYU). His poetry collections are published by Verlagshaus Berlin, and his essays by Carl Hanser Verlag in Munich.
Sarah Fartuun Heinze (pronouns fæ/fæm) Loves To Play multiverse : Spaces For Collaborative Play With Space AlSo For :
‘The Most Important & Source Of All Is The WellBeing Of All – Let’s Find Out What That means meanwhile’
Fæ lives in Northern Germany (Hamburg), grew up in Southern Germany, was born in East Africa & creates Analog & Digital & Hybrid SoloLeveling & in multiverse Heart-&-Playfulst Collaborations (e.g. as part of dgtl fmnsm & SFHKverse) :&: positions fæselves Black CripQueer Neurospicy :&: is multiverse And AlSo
multiversedisciplinary* (Media-)Artist*In & multiversecurious Aesthetic*Researcher*In & multiverseMusicMagician & Intersec*Tech*Wizard.
Necati Öziri, born in one of the many gray corners of the Ruhr area, studied Philosophy, German Studies and New German Literature in Bochum, Istanbul and Berlin. As a playwright, he has written for the Maxim Gorki Theater, the Nationaltheater Mannheim and the Schauspielhaus Zürich, among others. He won the Kelag Prize and the Audience Prize at the 45th Days of German-Language Literature. As a curator, he headed the Studio Я of the Maxim Gorki Theater and the International Forum of the Berliner Festspiele’s Theatertreffen. Of course, everything in his texts is always true.
Mable Preach has been a prominent figure in the Hamburg art scene for many years – as a director and choreographer, curator, and networker. She is the initiator of the festival for urban BIPoC youth culture FORMATION**NOW and the head of the cultural and youth association Lukulule. In her work, she critically addresses racism and (neo-)colonialism, promotes empowerment, and produces alternative images and narratives to the white mainstream.
Hanh Mai Thi Tran was born in 1994 in Dresden. After gaining initial stage experience at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, she studied acting at the University of Arts in Graz from 2015 to 2019. There, she worked with directors such as Maxim Didenko, Pedro Martins Beja, and Sabine Auf der Heyde. While still a student, she made guest appearances at the Schauspielhaus Graz. From 2019 to 2023, she was a permanent ensemble member at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin. She has worked with directors such as Anta Helena Recke, Sebastian Nübling, Sebastian Baumgarten, and Oliver Frljić. Since summer 2023, she has been working as a freelance actress, performing at venues such as the Staatstheater Hannover under the direction of Jorinde Dröse and at the Theater Basel under the direction of Jörg Pohl. Hanh Mai Thi Tran is also active in film and television (most recently in the Berlin Tatort: “Am Tag der wandernden Seelen” directed by Mira Thiel) and works as a voice actress.
Eike N.A. Onyambu was born in 1999 in Nairobi, Kenya, and grew up in northern Germany. Artistically active from an early age, Eike studied acting at the Music and Arts University of Vienna after graduating from high school. During the studies, Eike began to focus particularly on anti-racism and anti-discrimination, often working with young people. Today, Eike works as an actor at the GRIPS Theater in Berlin, in film, and as a voice actor. Additionally, Eike conducts theater education workshops for young people.
Nora Patyk studied cultural studies and aesthetic practice at the University of Hildesheim, majoring in theater. After her FSJ Kultur at Junges Schauspiel Hannover, she initially worked as an assistant director and theater mediator for several youth productions. She also realized her own artistic projects and formats with young, non-professional actors. In her theater work, Nora Patyk focuses on a discrimination-critical and empowering perspective. She advises and accompanies various theater and cultural institutions as well as actors in the independent scene. As part of AB_____(Aktionsbündnis_____) and in collaboration with the Children’s and Youth Theater Center of the Federal Republic of Germany (KJTZ), she published Diskriminierungskritische Perspektiven: Eine Handreichung für Theatermacher*innen in April 2023. Since 2021 she has been a member of the Artistic Mediation and Interaction team at Schauspiel Hannover.
Katalina Götz Coming soon
Ruben Sabel was born in 2000 and grew up in Leipzig. He studied Performing Arts at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. During his studies, he performed at various theaters, including the Burgtheater Vienna, Schauspielhaus Vienna, and Theater Drachengasse Vienna. Since this season 24/25, he has been a permanent ensemble member at the Theater Bremen. Additionally, Ruben Sabel is studying Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Bremen. He acts in film and television, is an author and director, and creates his own performances.
Film Team
Directors
Ruben Sabel, Anna Sabel, Benjamin Kramme
Assistant Director
Mehmet Ali Arbag
Redaktion
Anna Sabel, Ruben Sabel
Produktion
Anna Sabel, Benjamin Kramme
Camera
Rita Hajjar
Sound
Fabian Reichle
Editing
Anna Sabel, Jennifer Sabel, Benjamin Kramme, Jean-Pierre Meyer-Gehrke
Post-Production
Jean-Pierre Meyer-Gehrke
Sounddesign
Bernd Göbel
Subtitles
Bailey Ojiodu-Ambrose
Verband binationaler Familien und Partnerschaften
Geschäfts- und Beratungsstelle Leipzig
&
Wunschkind Film
“I have an allergy to old texts.
Except those by May Ayim. Audre Lorde.
But all those Reclam booklets. Bye-bye.”
— Mable Preach
ASSITEJ e.V.
Kinder- und Jugendtheaterzentrum in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Schützenstraße 12
60311 Frankfurt am Main
jungespublikum.de
Verband binationaler
Familien und Partnerschaften
Geschäfts- und Beratungsstelle Leipzig
Arndtstr. 63
04275 Leipzig
binational-leipzig.de
A co-operation of ASSITEJ e.V. and Verband binationaler Familien und Partnerschaften Leipzig. The film was produced as part of PERSPEKTIV:WECHSEL, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media via the programme „Verbindungen fördern“ of the Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste e.V.
The film was also funded as part of the project „(Un)Sichtbarkeiten in der Migrationsgesellschaft“ by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and as part of the federal programme „Demokratie leben!“ and the state programme „Weltoffenes Sachsen“.
