Cuba Oranges

Viviana M. Medina studied directing at the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst “Ernst Busch” after completing her philology studies at the Freie Universität Berlin.

Born in Havana and raised in Thuringia, the director focuses her work on classism, the visibility of Black individuals, and East German perspectives. In 2022, she staged her diploma project Beloved as part of the 48h Neukölln arts festival. Medina reimagined the modern Medea story in a site-specific audio walk from a Black introspective lens, centering on the daughter born in freedom while exploring the question: “Why remember?”

During the filming of Sam – Ein Sachse, she worked as an assistant director and contributed to storytelling on a dramaturgical level. Since April 2023, the documentary about Samuel Meffire, the first Black police officer in the GDR, has been streaming on Disney+ and, since April 2024, on the ARD Mediathek.

In 2024, the director worked on a documentary film concept for Netflix. Since 2023, she has been serving as a dramaturge for Into the Wild Mentoring, advising FLINTA* filmmakers on their scripts for film and television. That same year, she presented her performance C.V. at the Berliner Festspiele, exploring moments that shape identity and self-perception—those of a father with war experiences and PTSD and those of his daughter.

In the fall of 2023, she directed Say hi to me! at the TD as part of the Monolog Festival. In this piece, the biblical story of Jonah morphed into a real-life migration narrative about the young Cuban Sandra de los Santos, who shipped herself via DHL in a wooden crate from Havana to Miami, disguised as a ship propeller. This work also examines the so-called German “welcome culture.”

Since 2024, she has been working as a freelance dramaturge at the Ballhaus Naunynstraße, contributing to various theater projects such as Orestie and Kraftwandler*innen.

Currently, she is serving as a jury member for the Heidelberg Stückemarkt at the Theater und Orchester Heidelberg and is writing the screenplay for her debut film.

Sarah Claire Wray is a writer and director. Initially studying architecture, she later transitioned to theater. As an assistant director, she worked at Schauspiel Frankfurt, Thalia Theater Hamburg, Altonaer Theater, and Oldenburgisches Staatstheater. After three years of assistant work, she applied to the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch, where she completed her directing diploma in 2022.

During her studies, she developed a fascination for moving images, writing, producing, and directing her short film HDGDL, which premiered at the Black Reels Film Festival in 2021.

Further theater productions followed at the Volksbühne Berlin and the Nationaltheater Mannheim.

After graduating, she wrote screenplays for the series Schwarze Früchte, WIR, and Stationär and directed the radio play Doppeltreppe zum Wald produced for SWR.

Ida Kammerloch, * 1991 in Izhevsk/Russia, is a visual artist and filmmaker based in Vienna.

She completed her studies in TransArts at the University of Applied Arts Vienna in 2024, following previous studies at the Rodchenko Art School in Moscow (2018) and the University of Fine Arts Saarbrücken (2019).

Kammerloch’s work investigates the socio-political forces that drive cycles of production and circulation, with a particular focus on their impact on private and domestic spaces. Her practice frequently incorporates found footage and objects, which she primarily transforms into video installations and conceptual photography.

In 2024, she was awarded the Kunsthalle Wien Prize and took second place in the Ö1 Talent Scholarship. From 2020 to 2022, she was a receipient of the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Fellowship. Since 2021 she teaches at the University of Fine Arts Saarbrücken.

www.idakammerloch.net
@idakammerloch