GfM CONFERENCE

From September 28th to October 1st, 2022, the Department of Media and Communication Studies (MuK) of the Institute for Music, Media and Speech Studies (IMMS) of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg hosted the four-day annual conference of the Society for Media Studies (GfM).

The GfM annual conference in Halle focused on the topic »work«. On the one hand, the choice of topic reflected the history and structural change of the region, as brought about by the leap from the coal industry to digitization. On the other hand, the choice of the topic reacted to the impulses of far-reaching changes due to the increasing mediatization of many professional fields and work areas, which are of great importance for the city of Halle.
In addition to the scientific lecture and discussion program, there were panels, workshops and a cultural program that actively involved the city's media players.

CULTURAL PROGRAM
A panel discussion in combination with a film screening and live music on the subject of 'Women within the Media Industry' was one of the key elements of the cultural program and was held at the Ulrichskirche (Halle-Saale) in the early evening of September 29, 2022. As part of the panel, Franziska Heller (Professor of Media Studies, MLU Halle; Moderation) spoke with Christina Herssebroick (Head of MDR / Main Editorial Office), Skadi Loist (Junior Professor for Production Cultures in Audiovisual Media Industries, Film University Babelsberg), Roxana Hennig (Filmmaker, Founder, Producer), Sarah Maria Köpf (Journalist and graduate of the Master Programm in MultiMedia Authorship at the department for Media and Communication Studies). The discussion also focused on the gender perspective with questions on regional cultural policy in general and media and culture promotion at within the region and Halle-Saale. 
Within the panel different questions were discussed such as: Which perspectives does the region offer women within the field of the media industry in Halle (Saale) and Saxony-Anhalt in general?

SILENT FILM PROGRAMM ON GENDER-POLITICAL ASPECTS
The conversation was accompanied by a silent film program that addressed the gender-political aspects of current media work and at the same time combined the theme in an entertaining and humorous way with the venue and the historical conditions of media and film production. The silent films “La Soubrette ingénieuse” / Magic Picture Hanging (1902, 2 min.), Zoé et le parapluie miraculeux (1913, 4 min.) and “The tragedy of a premiere” (1925, 14 min.) were shown. The films all belong to the genre of slapstick and comedy. On the one hand they address women in film production, on the other hand they show comedians and their way of dealing with the topic of “work” and how they develop their own perspective on social conventions. The films were shown intermittently in two blocks and also addressed within the panel discussion. The experimental musician Anaïs Tuerlinckx provided a unique sound performance on a prepared grand piano.