For the second edition of God is a Woman – Practical Feminism Festival which is held from 3 to 6 October in the Spazio Into (and surroundings) of Milan, there is excitement. Best of all, there’s a good cause. Part of the proceeds from the festival will be donated to Noura Alqsasia, designer and artist Palestinian whose family is stranded in the Gaza Strip, and whose works are on display at Mini Spazio during the event. But what happens during God is a Woman? We talked about it with Futura Paganoorganizer, e He sayssinger-songwriter and actress who took part in the panel Taboo Collection on October 4th at 6.45pm.
The themes of this edition are taboo, rights, information, creativity and community, which will be discussed together with various guests (women/non-binary/men) through debates, biodanza and pasta-making workshops, but also stars and tarot cards with Jumpa yoga night session, as well as interviews and a final reading organized in partnership with The women’s bookshop and Frab’s Magazine. «We believe that feminism is first of all a good practicewhich concerns everyone and leads to the improvement of everyone in society, not only in the female condition” he explains to me Futura Paganorevealing the soul of this edition of the festival born from the union of the will of the INTO board of directors, Futura Pagano (president) and Maurizio Ridolfo (vice) and of some of its voluntary associates, Federica Sala and Roberta Abate, «as well as the help of many women/men and non-binary associates, who organize it with their own strength.”
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Among the unmissable events there was also a musical moment where Kaze and Linda Feki performedat the end of the panel Taboo Collectionin which Diego Di Franco, Roberta Lippi, Tania Loschi (RE:B), Stella Pulpo and Eleonora Strozzi participated together with Stefania Crespi (DonnexStrada). Futura Pagano she tells me: «The artists who perform, in addition to being extremely talented, represent for us women who believe in their project, carry it forward with ability and vision and are an inspiration to everyone».
Then he continues: «God is a Woman Festival doesn’t want to do anything other than give a platform, voice and opportunity for expression to those who excel in their field and take their space, often with great difficulty and having to assert rights that are forgotten in practice. We don’t want to convey the concept of women supporting women, but of the whole society that needs and can only benefit from such inspiring and talented women and female projects.”
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Kaze’s world
When we reach He says (stage name of Paola Gioia Kaze Formisano), who is preparing for the afternoon panel, tells us that she can’t wait to sit down and talk with Roberta Lippi because «talk about feminism in a space like this it makes you feel much freer, as if you weren’t talking about top systems, there wasn’t the pressure of having to convince someone of your ideas, there are comparison and desire to listen». At the end of the panel, Kaze did a four-piece guitar and vocals, a very intimate little live show, with songs from his album Post Darkreleased in April 2024. «The “After Dark” moment is my favorite moment of the day, when it is no longer night, but the sun has not yet risen. The one in which you feel safest, as if protected, because everyone is asleep and you remain one step further behind what could happen tomorrow, in the doubt of knowing if the sun will really rise.”
In Post Dark, Kaze tells of female bonds and relationshipsespecially the one with his mother in “Sopra Sta Terrazza (Mamma)” and his sister in “Caramelle”. «”Sopra Sta Terrazza (Mamma)” was born as an outlet, I needed to be listened to by someone at that moment and I chose to speak to my mother through this song. My relationship with her has not always been easy and many times, for my part, I have put a barrier in our communication. As I grew up, this led me to make many choices without first talking to her about it. It’s a very important topic for me, how society is trying to today give parents the tools to communicate better with the children. After I played her the song, however, we began to understand each other more, I understood how to unblock myself.” A completely different story for “Caramelle”, a hymn of protection and affection for her sister, with whom there has always been such a strong understanding that words were not necessary: «She began to play the guitar, I sang, and we we understood instantly. It has always been like this.”
Another fundamental relationship for Kaze’s artistic growth was the one with Plastica, the producer with whom he created Post Dark. «Finding myself in the studio with her was such a natural process as to be unexpected. She gave an electronic twist to the more acoustic system from which my music originated. We immediately understood each other about the project we wanted to work on and what brought us together were also some common episodes in the world of music” explains Kaze, who then tells me how the music studies are a predominantly male environmentso much so that it is almost habitual to think about the strangeness of female artists in these contexts. «There is still a lot of work to be done in this sense, to ensure that a collective support network is created among the artists, to be able to occupy the space. There are some projects that encourage meetings between artists, such as the Poche meetings [collettivo di producer fondato da Plastica ed Elasi, ndr] but there is a sort of internalized competitiveness that makes truly ordinary work more difficult.”
And while He says she tells me about the musical collaborations she would dream of for her future, from Elodie to Elisa, I ask her if, given her multifaceted talent which led her to act in the cinema with Dog years and on the small screen with Call My Agentshe is often asked to channel her path into only one of these art forms. «It’s the question they ask me most often ‘but what do you prefer between acting and singing?’. And asking is legitimate, but for me being able to be everything, leaving the doors of experimentation open, is a form of freedom. What I do will probably also depend on the moments in my life. Sometimes I will prefer to act, other times to do a live show, other times to lock myself in the studio. But asking me to choose seems reductive to me, it seems belittling. I want the freedom to be everything.”
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