Category: Films Online


Shadow to Strength: Exhibition and performance highlights

This series of short videos captures some of the artistic highlights from the exhibition and performances “Shadow to Strength: Resilience in the Face of Adversity”, which took place in Nairobi, Kenya, in December 2024.

Nile Dawta

Event participants experienced Nile Dawta’s transformative Neo-Reggae sound as she performed tracks from her celebrated projects, blending art and activism. With a track record as a musician and gender advocate, Nile Dawta uses her artistry to drive social change. She has won the UN-Human Rights Art Competition and the Brazilian Young Talent Africa Music Awards, solidifying her position as a pioneer in East Africa’s Neo-Reggae movement.

Rebian Artis

Rebian Artis is a dynamic spoken word artist, writer, and activist who champions for equality, social justice, and human rights. Rebian has captivated audiences at @missingvoiceske, Usawa Festival, @mashujaafestival and beyond. Her powerful performances and words ignite conversation and inspire change.

Felicity Mudis

Felicity Mudis is an activist who uses spoken word and fashion. She cofounded with Aikos an initiative called Freedom In Healing that advocates for gender equality, mental wellness, and the eradication of sexual violence and other violations against women and girls through the power of art and media. She is passionate about spreading life and light through her work and has performed on a number of stages including @tedx_official, Jumuika Sikika Mtaani, Mask Awards, @hourpoetic , Poetry Cultural Exchange Uganda, the Annual SRHR and climate change Summit. She is the convener of @sisterdarlingmovement, an annual poetry event that focuses on telling the stories of African women for social change and raising emerging female poets.

A-zee Coptel

The exceptional Urban Sheng Hip-Hop artist and curator A-zee Copter is known for his distinctive vocal style and powerful storytelling. A-zee Coptel brings a unique blend of personal experiences and social commentary, making waves in Nairobi’s Embakasi area. He has collaborated with renowned artists like @julianikenya and @poetteardrops, fusing Afro, zouk, and R&B influences into his vibrant sound. Catch him on stages like Mukuru Festival, Pawa Cafe, Form Ni Gani Concert, Mashujaa Festival, and Good Governance Festival.

Spontaneous the Poet

Spontaneous the Poet is an award-winning spoken-word artist, artivist, and cultural curator with over a decade of impactful experience. Honoured with accolades such as the Africa Women Journal Awards (2023) by @femnetsecretariat, she co-directed the best-spoken word production, Give The Woman Her Flowers alongside @wanguikimoney. As the driving force behind initiatives like the @anikainitiative_ and @femalepoetske, her leadership and mentorship continue to inspire many. Currently serving on the advisory board of @icrw_org and a member of @poetryafterlunch_ke, Spontaneous is dedicated to using her platform to advocate for change through performances, art therapy and social media strategies for positive change. She is also the programs coordinator for Shadow to Strength @peace.tree.network.

King Kadija

“Shadow to Strength” visitors were able to enjoy some of King Kadija’s powerful tracks. He currently has two major projects: SAUTI YA BUBU MIXTAPE (10 songs) and MAOMBI YA MWIZI ALBUM (15 songs).

Ninah Tanya, presented by Shikkieh

Ninah Tanya is a visionary mixed-medium artist known for her work in digital art, murals, graffiti, and live painting. Based in Nairobi, Ninah blends art with purpose, managing projects at Unganisha Cultures to champion cultural awareness and environmental conservation. Her journey is one of creativity and impact, using her craft to inspire others to embrace their authentic selves and protect our planet.


Documentary “Shadow to Strength”: Artivism for human rights and against police brutality in Kenya

This documentary captures highlights of “Shadow to Strength”, an exhibition and performance event on human rights advocacy against police brutality in Kenya, held at the Kenya National Theatre Nairobi in December 2024.

“Shadow to Strength” showcased the power of artivism (art + activism) in the face of police brutality, reflecting experiences from Nairobi and Kisumu – and with important lessons for people facing police brutality anywhere in the world.

The documentary is an output of the project “Nonviolent Artivism Against Police Brutality in Kenya“.


Documentary mini-series: Shared knowledge on community self-protection

The documentary mini-series “Shared Knowledge on Community Self-Protection” sought to promote knowledge exchange between representatives of communities involved in various projects supported by the Creating Safer Space network in Colombia. It is an outcome of the Creating Safer Space regional meeting in Colombia in 2024, which found that Colombia has a wealth of nonviolent community self-protection experience but often lacks opportunities to link those localised efforts.

To translate the episodes from Spanish into other languages, enable subtitling and auto-translation in the YouTube settings.

Episode 1

Norma, who participated in the project developed in collaboration with the Llano Verde Peace Seedbed in Cali, visited Harlequin and the Jugglers in Medellín, who participated in the Art That Protects project.

Episode 2

Verónica, from the Water Conflicts project, travelled with Luz Dey to Bajo Cauca to learn about the functioning of the Social Guarantee Process in that region.

Episode 3

Verónica, from the Water Conflicts project, shared her experiences at the Water Festival in Nariño, Antioquia.

Episode 4

The researchers from Art That Protects visited Lerma, where they learned about the self-protection experiences of indigenous communities living in the midst of a high-intensity armed conflict.

Episode 5

Laura Jiménez, a researcher with the Creating Safer Space Network, travelled to Buenaventura to learn how the Cormepaz organisation has promoted unarmed civilian protection measures among communities living in a city marked by conflict and extractive economies.

Full documentary

Watch the full documentary here:


Videos: Sensing/ thinking methodologies for PAR

These videos document four distinct methodologies for Participatory Action Research developed between communities and researchers in Buenaventura, Colombia. The videos accompany the brochure “Buenaventura: Metodologías sentipensantes de resistencia y re-existencia”, the second of two publications on Participatory Action Research (PAR).

They are an output of the project  project “Community strategies for Unarmed Civilian Protection in South-West Colombia: local experiences and lessons learned“.

Part 1: El comadreo (the informal chat)

Part 2: La tertulia poética (the poetic gathering)

Part 3: El sociodrama (the sociodrama)

Part 4: El teatro por la vida (the theatre for life)


Safe in Our Home

This documentary explores the potential of local semilleros (seedbeds) in facilitating community-based research on strategies for the protection of unarmed civilians and wider issues of (in)security.

This documentary was produced by participants in the Creating Safer Space project “Community strategies for Unarmed Civilian Protection in South-West Colombia: local experiences and lessons learned”.

The documentary was created by two students at Universidad Autónoma de Occidente (UAO) in Colombia, Santiago Hernandez and Manuela Romero, who presented it as their final year project under the supervision of Dr Natalia Campo (Co-Investigator on the Creating Safer Space project).


Series of Short Films: Art That Protects and Intersectionality

This series of five films was produced by the Creating Safer Space project “Art that Protects: Networks as strategies for self-protection in the context of urban conflict in the city of Medellín, 2023”. Further information about the films is available here.

For English subtitles: Go to the YouTube settings for the video, turn on subtitles, then turn on auto-translate and choose your language.

Art That Protects and Intersectionality 1: Category Cosmovision – Barrio Comparsa
Arte que protege e interseccionalidad 1: Categoría Cosmovisión – Barrio Comparsa

Art That Protects and Intersectionality 2: Category Age – Robledo Venga Parchemos
Arte que protege e interseccionalidad 2: Categoria Edad – Robledo Venga Parchemos

Art That Protects and Intersectionality 3: Category Socioeconomic Status – Biocomunidad
Arte que protege e interseccionalidad 3: Categoria Estatus Socioeconómico – Biocomunidad

Art That Protects and Intersectionality 4: Category Ethnicity – Arlequín y los Juglares
Arte que protege e interseccionalidad 4: Categoría Étnica – Arlequín y los juglares

Art That Protects and Intersectionality 5: Category Sex and Gender – Renovación Art Corporation
Arte que protege e interseccionalidad 5: Categoría Sexo y Género – Renovación Corporación Artística


Short Film: Minga

This film explores the history and meaning of a community-based socio-cultural and political practice known as Minga, an indigenous form of protest and resistance.

The film looks at Minga in the context of armed conflict through the experiences of resistance of the Nasa indigenous communities in the department of Cauca, Colombia. It was created by a group of local researchers from the Indigenous Community of Caldono, Resguardo San Lorenzo, Ancestral land Sath Tama Kiwe in 2023.

This film was produced as part of the research project “Community strategies for Unarmed Civilian Protection in South-West Colombia”.


Short Film: Civil protection to stay on our land

Produced by local film makers, this film documents the experience of Palestinian farmers and shepherds with civil protection in the South Hebron Hills (Masafer Yatta). It explores the efficacy of unarmed civilian protection and how to strengthen self-protection against the threats of expulsion and dispossession by Israel and the settlers.

This film was produced as part of the research project Safety and dignity: Enhancing unarmed civilian protection amongst Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills (Masafer Yatta).

Civil protection to stay on our land

Introduction by the film director Mahmoud Jamal Makhamreh


Inter-regional learning on UCP in Nigeria

This documentary captures insights from an intergenerational and collective impact model adopted by the Jos Stakeholder’s Centre for Peace in Jos, Nigeria, to reduce violence in the context of two communities, Angwan Damisa and Balakaze, that have witnessed several episodes of communal conflict. The insights could help other Nigerian communities adapt the model to reduce or prevent violence in their specific context, such as in Maiduguri where ex-Boko Haram fighters and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are returning and changing the composition of the communities.

This film was produced as part of the Creating Safer Space research project Unarmed civilian protection through collective impact: Learning from the Jos Stakeholders Centre for Peace for enhanced civilian protection in Maiduguri, north-eastern Nigeria.


Song/Poem: When a young blood bleeds

This song/poem was written by Spontaneous the Poet, and recorded as part of the Creating Safer Space research project “Nonviolent Artivism Against Police Brutality in Kenya”.

Spontaneous the Poet says, “This piece was written in remembrance of people who’ve lost their relatives from extra judicial killings. It is actually based on a true story and I’m so grateful that they took part in the shooting of the video.”