American author and activist Soraya Chemaly and Dutch documentary filmmaker Sunny Bergman entered into a conversation about anger as a tool for positive change.
Chemaly wrote the international bestseller Rage Becomes Her, and we know Sunny Bergman from her provocative documentaries like Man Made, Our Colonial Hangover, and Sletvrees.
“Women are angry, and it isn’t hard to figure out why,” Chemaly says. They are underpaid, thwarted, diminished, and overworked. Assertive women are labeled bitches, while expressive women are considered too emotional. If they have an opinion, they best keep it to themselves. Chemaly not only believes that women’s anger is justified, but also that it can be a powerful tool for positive change. She calls it a force for creation, the best weapon against oppression. In early April, meanwhile, Sunny Bergman released her documentary on masculinity, Man Made, to great media fanfare. In one double interview (alongside comedian Theo Maassen) for the Volkskrant newspaper she explained why she made the film now: “At this point, I thought it was high time to address men: ‘If you don’t change, we cannot make society a better place for our children.’”

This event was conducted in English.

Event curated by Ilonka Reintjens (Writers Unlimited)
Books for sale courtesy of De Vries Van Stockum Books