“If you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere. You don’t understand what the very word ‘citizenship’ means,” Theresa May announced this at the Tory party conference in 2016.
What do statements like these mean for people whose life and work takes place between two cultures? In the documentary concert Wings & Roots we discover the hidden implications of ‘being between cultures’ on someones life and identity.
In a globalised world the number of people who identify with multiple countries, but don’t completely feel at home anywhere, is higher than ever. “They always relate, but never belong.” They are part of what is called the ‘Third Culture’. This is true for Shishani Vranckx , John Farah , Bodek Janke en Andrea Voets : four musicians who bring together 12 countries. In Wings & Roots they speak with transcultural psychiatrist Glenn Helberg. They examine the constant shifting between worlds, to eventually create one whole of all the puzzle pieces of life. A plea for complexity. The talks in the documentary resonate in the live music on stage.
Wings & Roots is a production by Andrea Voets. She is artistic director of Resonate Productions : the organisation for musical journalism. She makes documentary-concerts, with the purpose of uncovering emotional blind spots in society. In 2018 and 2019 Andrea is New Maker at De Balie. New Heroes provided artistic support and mentoring for Wings & Roots.
Pictures by
Joanna Wizmur.