Monday 8th December

09:00-12:00 @ Leslokaal 00.03 - Maria-Theresiacollege, Sint-Michielsstraat 6, 3000 Leuven

This 3-hour workshop invites participants to examine real-life situations, reflecting on how the decisions being made impact us and imagining alternative choices and outcomes. The arrangement of chairs in a meeting, the distance between people as they talk, the wording of an invitation, the clothes we wear, or the rhythm of an event: all are decisions that shape experience. We constantly navigate our own choices as well as the effects of decisions made by others, whether individuals or governments. Designed as a conversational card game, the workshop allows participants to explore their embodied experience of decision-making while engaging in dialogue with another person, with conversations unfolding in different physical configurations, such as standing back-to-back, walking, or sitting shoulder to shoulder. Through this process, participants strengthen problem-solving skills through curiosity and listening, gain insight into how personal values shape choices and outcomes, and experience decision-making as an embodied, lived practice. The workshop is led by Douglas Bateman, dancer, artistic director, and creative facilitator interested in conflict, dialogue and engagement.

Ticket information

• Event included in the Festival Pass (40-200 EUR). Pass holders may use the code received in the confirmation email to book a seat. 

• Individual tickets (26 EUR) can be reserved below. EFRJ members can log-in with their credentials to receive a 50% discount (13 EUR). 

• Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis (up to 30 seats).

12:45-15:15 @ prison Leuven Hulp

French filmmakers Isabelle Vayron and Chloé Henry-Biabaud first discovered restorative justice in the United States, which led to their 2016 documentary Another Justice. Wishing to capture a full process, they spent a year filming in Auxerre prison, where three victims and four people convicted of attempted or completed partner homicide engaged in a restorative journey. Their new film, La Réparation (The Healing Process), offers a rare, intimate look at restorative justice in action. From the first phone call to victims through to collective encounters inside the prison, the documentary follows each step with sensitivity and depth, revealing the courage, doubts, and humanity of all involved. By opening a window onto these encounters, the film shows how restorative justice creates space for dialogue and recognition even in the aftermath of profound harm. This event takes place inside the walls of Leuven Hulp, thus registered participants will need to pass the security checks to enter and exit the prison. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the film directors.

Ticket information - Sold out, you can sign up to the waiting list

• Event included in the Festival Pass (40-200 EUR). Pass holders may use the code received in the confirmation email to book a seat. 

• Individual tickets (12 EUR) can be reserved below. EFRJ members can log-in with their credentials to receive a 50% discount (6 EUR). 

• Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis (up to 10 seats). 

20:00-21:30 @ STUK, Leuven

Inside the Distance is an interactive documentary by digital media artist Sharon Daniel, reconstructing real restorative justice encounters between victims, offenders, and mediators. Through re-enactments based on firsthand accounts, it invites audiences to step into multiple perspectives, revealing the fluidity of roles and the transformative potential of dialogue. This special screening will be a joint exploration of this interactive documentary followed by a conversation with experts and protagonists who participated in the project 12 years ago:

• Sharon Daniel - Digital Media Artist and Professor (joining online from the US)
• Ivo Aertsen - Emeritus Professor of Criminology
• Ianthe Hertecant - Person with Lived Experience of Restorative Justice
• Bie Vanseveren - Victim-Offender Mediator and Trainer
• Brunilda Pali - Chair of the European Forum for Restorative Justice (moderator)

Ticket information

• Event included in the Festival Pass. Pass holders may use the code received in the confirmation email to book a seat. 

• Individual tickets (free) can be reserved below (especially for Festival Pass holders) or via STUK.

• Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis (up to 60 seats).