Health, emotions and the body in film education

In 2025, Lara Kuom realized the project Caring for Friction within DOXS RUHR festival to discuss multiple narratives of violence as well as practical approaches to create “caring” spaces for young audiences in film education. She will share the project’s central insights, taking into account how audiovisual art can open up spaces for collective learning, empathy and emotional literacy especially in times of polycrisis. How does health (mental and physical) correlate with social and political circumstances? And how can film education be a contribution for more awareness of diverse vulnerabilities and experiences in the room?

Lara Kuom operates at the intersection of political education, curation, audience engagement, and moderation. She has been collaborating closely with the DOXS RUHR festival for several years. During the last years she is delving deeper into the interplay between narratives, friction and care within the context of documentary (film) forms and the ways in which they are mediated. Accompanying her current studies in osteopathy, she aims to explore the impact of individual and collective physicality in and around audiovisual art, as well as a broader concept of health.