DARNA COLLECTIVE RETURNS TO MILAN FOR MAQAM MUSIC EVENT

Summary:

• Darna Collective hosts MAQAM at BASE Milano on September 19-20, focusing on SWANA music and cinema connections
• The event features film screenings, live performances, and discussions about decolonial music practices
• All activities are free and open to the public, building on last year's successful inaugural event

Darna Collective Returns to BASE Milano for Second Annual Cultural Event

Darna Collective will present MAQAM - Il richiamo at BASE Milano on September 19-20, 2025. The two-day event explores connections between music and cinema from the SWANA region (Southwest Asia and North Africa).

Darna, meaning "our house" in Arabic, brings together young creatives from the SWANA diaspora who use cinema to reclaim narrative spaces. The collective launched its first event, La Nostra Casa, at BASE Milano in 2024, examining orientalism through cinema with scholars, directors, and actors.

BASE Milano operates as a cross-disciplinary cultural center in a former industrial complex. The venue hosts artistic experimentation, social innovation, and cultural production while connecting local and international communities.

Over the past year, Darna organized screenings and workshops across Italy and Europe. Events took place in Rome, Florence, Brescia, Milan, London, Barcelona, and Amsterdam. These activities created connections and explored cinema as a tool for reflection and community engagement.

MAQAM refers to place, state, or position in Arabic. It also describes the melodic system of traditional Arab music, including improvisations, variations, and returns. The event examines sound as cinematic language and cultural resistance tool in the SWANA region.

The program covers musical traditions from ritual Gnawa trance music, which emerged from slave rebellion against oppression and became popular resistance to colonialism, to Raï music, the voice of Algerian youth rebels that transformed from forbidden song to universal language.

Friday September 19 Schedule

The evening opens with Vama3000's sound experience at 7:30 PM. The artist combines European electronic techno with North African rhythms and sub-Saharan percussion.

At 8:30 PM, attendees view Transes (1981) by Ahmed El Maanouni. The documentary follows legendary Moroccan band Nass El Ghiwane and examines music as a tool for struggle, memory, and resistance.

A conversation about music and decolonial practices in Italy begins at 10:00 PM. Music journalist Gabriele Serussi and music manager Marilson Paulo Da Silva join the discussion, moderated by Darna.

DJ Smiyya closes the evening at 11:00 PM with diasporic echoes and hybrid club sounds through experimental percussive sets, combining clubbing with shared listening and collaborative artistic practices.

Saturday September 20 Schedule

The day starts with Moroccan brunch from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM, created with Casawi Magazine and accompanied by live music. Casawi Magazine operates as an independent media outlet celebrating diverse voices and connecting cultures from Milan.

At 12:30 PM, Kalam Aflam presents short film screenings. The Paris-based association creates spaces for Arab arts and culture.

VAMAKHO performs at 7:30 PM with an immersive set honoring Ziad Rahbani through deep listening to his works reinterpreted in contemporary style.

At 8:00 PM, the program features Omar Gatlato by Merzak Allouche. In this film, music reflects daily life and serves as social criticism, revealing emotions, contradictions, and tensions of Algerian masculinity.

DJ and producer Kharfi closes the program at 11:00 PM with a dance set.

MAQAM invites participants to listen, resonate, and reactivate collective memories through sound, combining North African cinema with musical performances by diaspora artists.

All activities are free and open to everyone at BASE Milano, Via Bergognone 34, Milano.
Contact information: info@darnadistribution.com, @darna.cinema.