As Matter Speaks

Over two days at De Appel, ‘Collective Study in Times of Emergency’ brought together texts, voices, music, films, artworks, digital images, and printed materials – creating a space where individual and collective research and archives came into dialogue. This video reflects on moments when international solidarity with the Palestinian resistance intersected with solidarity against South African apartheid. These encounters revealed the archive not just as a site of preservation, but as a living network – crossing borders of geography, time, and form. What futures do these archives hold? What kinds of solidarity will we imagine and practice in a distant future, once these materials have decomposed and become part of us? As Matter Speaks moves across different traces of the 'Collective Study' programme, summoning a space between permanence and fragility, where archives circulate endlessly.

Directed by Yeongseo Jee, As Matter Speaks leans on a strong ensemble — Françoise Vergès, Rana Issa, Rasha Salti — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 2025.