If You Are A Big Tree #4: Seeing Sudan
Film. Flavor. Music. Community.
In the midst of everything, we gather. If You Are a Big Tree returns to Felix Meritis in celebration of Sudanese culture and community, carefully co-curated and hosted by archivist and researcher Saffa Khalil. As April marks three years since the start of the civil war in Sudan, this gathering is a space for stories, for solidarity, and resilience.
As usual, film, music, and flavor form the core elements of the night. The evening opens with a screening of Marwa Eltahir’s short film 99 Names: My Liberation is Tied To Yours, followed by an intimate live set by singer-songwriter Hussam Musa. We close the night with a unique set by DJ Tabiteee (UK), weaving Sudanese classics and contemporary sounds. Throughout the night, guests are invited to share Sudanese bites from Napata.
Line-up
Saffa Khalil
Our host Saffa is an archivist and PhD Candidate at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. Her work is rooted in exploring the use of Black radical traditions and sonic practices to shape alternative archives to create, preserve, and sustain knowledge production. She’s co-founder of YallaforSudan, a politically independent Dutch based group seeking to raise awareness for the ongoing genocide in Sudan.
Hussam Musa
Hussam Musa is a passionate musician, singer, and songwriter with deep love for and performing music and connecting with listeners. Blending traditional influences with spoken word and soulful vocals, he crafts a distinctive and immersive sound. As a powerful voice within the musical tapestry of peace and connection, he invites audiences into a truly engaging experience. Expect an intimate performance with moments of exchange and reflection.
Tabideee
Tabideee is a British-Sudanese DJ and researcher, exploring the critical contributions of Black communities across the continent and diaspora to electronic music. Her sound plays tribute to Afro-Arab electronic productions, specifically exploring her Sudanese heritage and neighboring influences. She developed an archival practice as method of documentation, drawing from platforms like SoundCloud, cassette mixtapes, phone recordings, and personal fieldwork. In the wake of conflict, this practice has taken on new urgency, leading her to build a sonic archive of her own family.
Flavor by: Napata
Experience Sudan’s rich culinary traditions through Nepata: the Netherlands’ first and only Sudanese restaurant. Founded by Ranya and Abdelrahman Adam, Nepata joins us with the flavours, warmth, and generosity that define Sudanese dining.
Film
99 Names: My Liberation is Tied to Yours – dir. Marwa Eltahir (2025)
99 Names: My Liberation is Tied to Yours is a portal between the threshold of birth and decay, a point of meditation on the dying paradigm of patriarchy, colonialism, and fear that has plagued the history of Sudan. In the wake of its destruction is immense grief for what was lost, and simultaneously an opening to create something new. To imagine a future for Sudan that is born from the spirit of Kandakas (women revolutionaries); a moment we saw reflected in the Sudanese revolution in 2019.
If You Are a Big Tree borrows its name from Bob Marley’s song (Small Axe), a timeless reminder that even the smallest actions, when joined together, can shake the tallest trees. This program is an homage to the rhythms, flavors, and stories that root communities and keep resistance alive. It is a space where film, music, and food intertwine as they carry echoes of struggle, joy, and belonging.
Emma-Lee Amponsah is a writer, researcher, and curator working across experimental film, social sciences, and media. At Felix Meritis, she curates interdisciplinary programs on abolition, community, and speculative futures. Her program portfolio includes long-term series such as the Abolitionist Assemblies and If You Are a Big Tree, alongside one-off programs like Dreams We Practice, featuring Ruha Benjamin, and De Toekomst Werkt Niet.
Would you like to attend this program, but don’t have the means to pay for a ticket? Send an email to info@felixmeritis.nl, we can work something out.
Note: By booking this ticket, you agree to potentially be photographed during the event.