Festival of Languages

Taster sessions are a great way to get a brief introduction to a language & culture of a particupar region.

Book sessions here.

All sessions will be hosted in the Language Resource Centre, Old Library Building, Level 2.

LANGUAGE	DATE	TIME
Turkish	14/03/23	1300-1400
Ukrainian	15/03/23	1300-1400
Chinese	15/03/23	1400-1500
Dutch	16/03/23	1200-1300
Urdu	17/03/23	1200-1300
Polish	20/03/23	1100-1200
Hindi	20/03/23	1200-1300
Portuguese	20/03/23	1200-1300
Indonesian	20/03/23	1300-1400
Yoruba	21/03/23	1100-1200
Korean	21/03/23	1300-1400
French	21/03/23	1300-1400
Romanian	21/03/23	1410-1510
Bengali	21/03/23	1410-1510
Arabic	22/03/23	1200-1300
Polish	22/03/23	1400-1500
German	22/03/23	1500-1600
Hindi	23/03/23	1100-1200
Italian	23/03/23	1200-1300
Ukrainian	23/03/23	1300-1400
Greek	23/03/23	1300-1400
Japanese	23/03/23	1400-1500
Brazilian Portuguese	24/03/23	1300-1400
Turkish	24/03/23	1400-1500
Farsi	27/03/23	1100-1200
Spanish	27/03/23	1200-1300

Our annual film festival celebrates the diverse languages, cultures and communities of the North East and our connections to the world.

The theme for this year’s film festival is authenticity. These films are influenced by genuine every-day experiences shared by people around the world.

La haine (1995) recommended by the Book Club Society:

‘Covering 24 hours in the life of three men from immigrant families – one black, one Arab, and one Jewish – it stands as an indictment of the worst aspects of French, and more broadly Western, democratic society. It exposes the gap between rich and poor; highlights the racism that consigned those from marginalised backgrounds to live in concrete blocks in suburbs – or banlieues – on the outskirts of the French capital; and, most resonantly right now, depicts the police as instruments of brutality set up to protect the rich white elites’ - From BBC Culture

Xala (1975) recommended by Harriet Shaw (Combined Honours with Year Abroad):

‘Decolonisation is such an important part of what we should be doing when studying languages and culture. Learning French isn't just about France, it's as much about the Francophone countries overseas. Therefore it's been really important for me to educate myself on Francophone African cinema. I've chosen Xala because Ousmane Sembène uses a mixture of Wolof and French in his film to comment on postcolonial Senegal's corrupt and hypocritical politics. It's a classic film that does not get the attention that it deserves. As it is about Senegalese politics, it has a unique eye-opening perspective that we unfortunately don't get to see very often.’ - Harriet Shaw

La mujer sin cabeza (2008) recommended by the Feminist Society:

‘It aligns with our values as it is about intersectional identities and privilege in Argentina, where a white middle class woman becomes aware of her privilege when she starts to believe she ran over an indigenous child. It’s in Spanish and often used to teach about Latin American Identities, we think it’s a great film!’ - Feminist Society

Astrid et Raphaëlle (2019) recommended by Rachel Taylor (English Literature with Creative Writing):

'The friendship between the two female protagonist, the authentic depiction of autism and the fascinating mysteries make this show a must-see.' - Rachel Taylor

Good Bye Lenin! (2003) recommended by the Creative Writing Society:

In 1990, to protect his fragile mother from a fatal shock after a long coma, a young man must keep her from learning that her beloved nation of East Germany as she knew it has disappeared.

Les choristes (2004) recommended by the History Society:

The new teacher at a severely administered boys' boarding school works to positively affect the students' lives through music.

Still Alice (2014) recommended by Lauren Reid (English Literature with Creative Writing):

'It’s a true story about a woman being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at age 50, I think this film is really important at highlighting the honesty and rawness of the disease.’ - Lauren Reid

Amores perros (2000) recommended by Christina Guirola De Newell (MPharm Pharmacy):

‘Amoresperros is a hard watch, but at the same time it shows the raw reality of life in Mexico, which is a true reflection of how life can be in other Latin American countries.’ - Christina Guirola De Newell

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All content recommended by NU students and societies and is available via the LRC's World TV & Film platform. Programme curated by Rachel Taylor (LRC IPTV Content Assistant Editor).