In the Agora, which is the open discussion forum of the LICHTER Filmfest, the political and social dimensions of “humour, slapstick and comedy” are at the centre. Here, spread throughout the day, various aspects such as power, gender and crisis in their relation to humour are negotiated. Who can laugh at whom? What do jokes say about the power structures of a society and its collective unconscious, and which function do they have in everyday life? The discussions with experts on humour from fields such as culture, science and politics are structured and complemented through screenings, a virtual international conference on humour and performances. In the AGORA, we look back on the humorous traditions of our society; look at the present: the political and popular cultural significance of humour, especially in the negotiation of norms and taboos; additionally, we look beyond the obvious and ask what makes people laugh in other parts of the world. *THEMATIC BLOCKS:* Humour and Everyday Life / Humour and Power / Humour and Gender *WITH:* * *Toby Ashraf* (free lance film editor) * *Vazrik Bazil* (President of the Association of German language speech writer) * *Tim Etchells* (performance artist, "Forced Entertainment") * *Leo Fischer* (satirist) * *Achim Greser* (cartoonist, "Greser&Lenz") * *Katharina Greve* (comic-strip artist, writer and artist) * *Darja Klingenberg* (sociologist) * *Chris Köver* (co-founder and chief editor „Missy Magazine“) * *Phil C. Langer* (sociologist) * *Vanessa le Mat* (performance artist, „ID_Frankfurt“) * *Robert Mankoff* (humour editor, "The New Yorker") * *Norbert Pape* (performance artist, „ID_Frankfurt“) * *Nicole Peisl* (performance artist, „ID_Frankfurt“) * *Benedikt Porzelt* (scientist, "Politics and comedy”) * *Theories of the Deep Understanding of Things* (social media art collective) * *Thorsten Sindermann* (philosopher and theorist on humour) * *Vanessa Stern* (actress and Flunder of the "Krisenzentrum für weibliche Komik") * *Ella Carina Werner* (author) * *and many more* ---------------------------------------------------------- _*2 p.m.*_ *HUMOUR AND THE EVERYDAY* _Talk_ “Humour is when you laugh anyway.” This also applies to the everyday dealings with the world and the people around you. What function does humour fulfil at an individual level and in interpersonal relationships and encounters? How does humour help us to cope with the situations in which we do not know whether to laugh or to cry? And when does situational comedy tip into irony or cynicism? *With:* *Darja Klingenberg* (sociologist) *Thorsten Sondermann* (philosopher and humour theorist) *Host:* *Toby Ashraf* (freelance film editor) ---------------------------------------------------------- _*3 p.m.*_ *THE ARTISTS ARE PRESENT* *VIRTUAL CONFERENCE* In our virtual conference on humour we bring together international art and cultural practitioners who deal in her work especially with the visual dimension of comedy. Their live transmitted online discussion shows by means of selected images that comedy can do without language and that images alone may be sufficient to make people laugh and think about laughter. The discussion is inspired by ideas that are firmly anchored in today's description of everyday phenomena and the present social age. Here, everything is possible, from the “breakfast egg” to “environmental activists.” Matching the words or phrases, the participants will search for images from their repertoire, which are then exchanged via a screen-sharing feature and, at the same time, shared with the audience at the Frankfurt Festival Centre. The conference will be streamed live on *arte Creative*. "Watch it here.":http://creative.arte.tv/de/Lichter-Filmfest-Frankfurt *With* * *Tim Etchells* (performance artist, „Forced Entertainment“) "more about Tim Etchells":http://www.timetchells.com * *Robert Mankoff* (humour editor, „The New Yorker“) "more about Bob Mankoff":http://www.bobmankoff.com * *Theories of the Deep Understanding of Things* (social media art collective) "more about Theories of the Deep Understanding of Things":http://www.facebook.com/Theories.of Out virtual conference will be streamed via Live-Stream on "arte creative":http://creative.arte.tv/de. ---------------------------------------------------------- _*4:15 p.m.*_ *HUMOUR AND POWER* _TALK_ Between rebellion and resignation: “Humor” is not only a means for debating politicians, but also – at least in the form of political cabaret, satire magazines and entertainment television – itself a form of politics. In the tradition of political cabaret as we have seen since Tucholsky, one tries to understand humour as an instrument for questioning and ironising politics: Humour as an argument. Of particular importance is the political humour in authoritarian regimes like Saudi Arabia, where a comedian causes a stir with his adaptation of “No Woman, No Cry” (“No Woman, No Drive”) and, under the mantle of comedy and joke, can exercise biting criticism of the politics of the regime. Apart from these professional forms of humorous activity, the question poses itself of its social and cultural significance in everyday life: What is the role of humour in political and social life? What betrays humour about the deep structure of society? For example, why do jokes about cancer work but not about diabetes? Is humour a form of aggression – and against whom is it directed? What does the humour research say about the social function of humour: Is it a subversive rebellion against the conditions or merely a means to cope with them better? *WITH:* * *VAZRIK BAZIL* (President of the Association of German language speech writer) * *ACHIM GRESER* (cartoonist, "Greser&Lenz") * *LEO FISCHER* (satirist) * *BENEDICT PORZELT* (scientist, "Politics and comedy") *HOST:* * *CHRIS KÖVER* (co-founder and chief editor „Missy Magazine“) ---------------------------------------------------------- _*4 p.m. & 5:45 p.m.*_ *HUMOUR AND BODY* Performance supported by ID_Frankfurt _Spielfeld I_ by Nicole Peisl and _Switch Collection_ by Vanessa Le Mag will be performed by Norbert Pape in the context of the LICHTER AGORA, to question the non-linguistic components of humour. How does a joke come into existence within and through movement? Do we not laugh and play already before we even learn to speak? In the space between expectation and execution, between imagination and what presents itself, two very complex, subtle and humorous productions of bodies in motion unfold by means of performative elements such as gestures, alienation, surprise, discontinuity and modulation of time. _*Spielfeld I / 4 p.m.*_ Choreography: Nicole Peisl Performance: Norbert Pape Duration: ca. 15 Min. In _Spielfeld I_ Nicole Peisl examines the basic, non-verbal components of interpersonal communication - and invites the viewers to engage in a dynamic compassionate space within the conditions of the performance situation: the space between a presented idea and the resulting subjective mental image. A game develops between what we do when we show ourselves and what we create when we look. Last but not least, humour is one of the qualities that comes to the fore within this field. _*Switch Collection / 17:45 Uhr*_ Choreography: Vanessa Le Mat Performer: Norbert Pape Switch to something else the moment you begin. Switch to something else the moment you know. whooooooooop ---------------------------------------------------------- _*6:45 p.m.*_ *HUMOUR AND GENDER* _TALK_ From the cabaret to the TV Comedy: A few sectors of society are so staunchly male-dominated such as cabaret and comedy; what to laugh about is apparently determined especially by men. At the same time, German humour prefers dealing with the inexhaustible topic of gender difference – not just at Mario Barth’s shows. But where does the enduring popularity of the man-woman topic in humour come from? How do wit and satire play with the entrenched male and female gender roles and stereotypes? In the context of the AGORA, we take a critical look at the “guffaw of the genders” (Kothoff) and show typical examples from different contexts of entertainment art. *With:* * *Katharina Greve* (cartoonist, author and artist) * *Vanessa Stern* (actress and founder of the "Krisenzentrum für weibliche Komik") * *Phil C. Langer* (sociologist) *Host:* * *Ella Carina Werner* (author) ----------------------------------------------------------