Fourth mobility activity in our Erasmus+ programme is complete
Dajna Mišurac has completed her job shadowing activity at the DEFA Stiftung in Berlin.

From October 6th until October 17th, our chief secretary Dajna Mišurac took part in the fourth mobility of our Erasmus+ programme ''Cineclub Zagreb and Europe: the advancement of members' knowledge for the development of the association's future educational programs''. She spent 2 weeks job shadowing experts at the DEFA Stiftung in Berlin and gained invaluable experience, competences and knowledge.

During her time at DEFA, she spent time with team members from each individual department of the foundation to analyze the organizational structure, day to day work and responsibilities, the care the team takes with preserving the films created by the DEFA studios, as well as the collaborations the foundation nurtures with other organizations that collaborate with them in order to present the restored/digitized films (Bundesarchiv, Deutsche Kinemathek etc.)


DEFA Archive
Furthermore, with the contact established by DEFA's managing diretor Stefanie Eckert, she organized a screening of Kinoklub's films at the Kino Krokodil in order to present a cross section of the Club's production to a new audience and show the Berlin public about the work the Club does when it comes to promoting film amateurism and the authors that produce films within it.

Screening at Kino Krokodil, October 7th
In the two weeks she gained valuable insights into the operations of the DEFA Stiftung as a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and distributing GDR films produced in the DEFA Studios. She learned how DEFA actively engages the public through collaborations with distributors that ensure the films are shown through various channels (film screenings, festival screenings, TV distribution, Youtube channel distribution etc.). The everyday work she witnessed had a significant impact on her, especially the dedication of all team members to their work. The experience has inspired her to consider possible approaches that can be implemented at Kinoklub, especially those that have to do with archiving, data management, promotion and visibility.

Philip Zengel, PR department; Alexander Iskrov, Video department
As part of the mobility activity, she had a meeting at the Deutsche Kinemathek, as the organization is one of DEFA's partners that is in charge of distributing DEFA films. There she had the opportunity to discuss their distribution methods, collaboration, as well as visiting the Kinemathek archives and new space that they moved in this year.

Deutsche Kinemathek
Additionally, she enhanced her skills in networking by establishing a number of contacts for future presentations of Kinoklub and its film production through potential film screenings in Berlin, as well as presenting collaborating organizations and the films they preserve in Zagreb. This experience underscored the importance of establishing contacts with international collaborators in order to engage the existing as well as new audiences. Overall, these experiences have equipped her with concrete skills in public engagement, institutional organization, archival practices, all of which she plans to apply in her future endeavors.
The evaluation of the mobility will take place at Kinoklub Zagreb, where Mišurac will present her findings to an audience consisting of the Kinoklub Zagreb filmmaking community and the general public, who will serve as evaluators through feedback and discussion. The presentation will be shared with DEFA, for their review and additional input. This ensures that both organisations are involved in assessing the outcomes of the mobility. Also the documentation and evaluation of the outcomes will be published online on our website to be accessed by the interested public as well as members of the organisation.
Photos: Dajna Mišurac
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