The Scene with the Daughter · Denis Mustafin

The work

A father living in political asylum in Burgundy sets out by bicycle for Germany to meet his daughter, whom he has not seen for five years. The journey itself becomes the action: a long-distance movement across borders toward a meeting that has been suspended by separation, politics and time.

The work turns migration into a route travelled in reverse. Instead of leaving home for an unknown future, the protagonist crosses Europe in an attempt to restore a broken personal connection. The physical effort of cycling becomes inseparable from waiting, distance and the possibility of reunion.

Taking place as a real journey, The Scene with the Daughter exists between performance and travel. Its outcome is not a representation of return, but the attempt to make one possible.

The festival

Emigration to the Future was an interdisciplinary festival that took place in Berlin-Wedding, 7–9 August 2026, bringing together artists, performers and researchers from seven countries working across performance, installation, video, sound and public intervention. Curated by Vsevolod Lisovsky and Anton Polski (MAKE / Citizen Make), across venues including exBrache, Chto Delat and public space around Wedding.

emigrationtothefuture.org · Telegram: @emigrationtothefuture

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