Scorpionikas – countermanifesto

Bruna Kury (she/her) (Rio de Janeiro, 1987), based in Barcelona, is a Brazilian anarcho-transfeminist artist whose work explores gender, class, and race from a postcolonial critical perspective. Her creations confront heteronormative and patriarchal structures, with a strong focus on CLASS WAR. Recognized within the post-porn scene, her work spans video, performance, and multimedia, challenging social norms. Among her notable works are Gentrification of Affections (Berlin, 2022) and What if we think of coloniality as a major infection of the cis-tem? (Berlin, 2021). In 2024, she was nominated for the PIPA Contemporary Art Award and her work was included in the MUTHA museum collection. Kury has exhibited at events like the PostPxrn Film Festival (Warsaw, 2023) and participated in residencies such as PIVÔ (São Paulo). She is currently preparing for the release of Scorpionikas – Counteramanifesto, created during the Viral Interventions program at York University.

Nisha Platzer (she/her) is a queer artist, photographer and award-winning filmmaker based on the Unceded Traditional Territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Drawn to vibrant shades, her works meld sounds and imagery that you can dream and drown in. Nisha’s short film, Vaivén (2020) won the best film award at aluCine Latin Film & Media Arts Festival and competed at festivals worldwide. She studied film and Communications in Montreal and Documentary at the Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión (EICTV) in Cuba. Her work has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the BC Arts Council and the National Film Board of Canada. Nisha teaches handmade film workshops and is a member of Vancouver’s Iris Film Collective. An alumnus of IDFAcademy, the VIFF mentorship program, and the Hot Docs Accelerator Lab, her work can be found in music videos, narrative, and experimental films. Nisha’s first feature documentary ‘back home’ was supported by Telefilm Talent to Watch and presented at the Docs-in-Progress Canadian Showcase at Cannes Film Festival. She is currently adapting a beloved Canadian novel for the screen.

Matheus Mello (any pronouns) is a non-binary queer Film Worker who operates between Brazil and Spain. With over a decade of experience, Mello’s work spans the intersection of identity and migration, collaborating in educational workshops with esteemed filmmakers such as Lucrecia Martel, Pedro Costa, Paolo Sorrentino and Werner Herzog in nurturing emerging talent. They have been involved in innumerous productions like short films, documentaries, and video installations in Spain, Brazil, the USA, Cuba, China, Mozambique, and Angola that have premiered at prestigious film festivals. These include TIFF, Tallinn, Raindance, Sitges, Malaga, IDFA, IFFR, and Zinebi to name a few. Matheus is an alumnus of multiple prestigious film labs and industry workshops, including the Sundance Institute, Realness Institute Creative Producer Indaba, EGEDA Next Gen Film FinLab, and the Jihlava Emerging Producers program.