Migrant and Diasporic Cinema in Contemporary Europe
Lead Research Organisation:
Oxford Brookes University
Department Name: Faculty of Tech, Design and Environment
Abstract
Over the past twenty-five years European cinema has been influenced and shaped by multi-cultural and multiethnic presences and themes. Representations of migrant and diasporic experiences have assumed a more prominent position in cinematic narratives; non-Western and non-European aesthetics have brought new styles and genres. Recent examples of German-Turkish, French beur, Black and Asian British cinema as well as films of transnationally mobile filmmakers from the Balkans and former Soviet bloc countries have won considerable critical acclaim and have captured mainstream audiences. This research network explores how migrant and diasporic filmmakers have challenged traditional views of national identity and 'Europeanism'.
Organisations
Publications
Arslan S
(2009)
The new cinema of Turkey
in New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film
Ben Cousins (Author)
(2009)
Contemporary British Jewish Culture'
Berghahn D
(2010)
European Cinema in Motion
Berghahn D
(2016)
Screening European Heritage
Berghahn D
(2013)
The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration
Berghahn D
(2009)
From Turkish greengrocer to drag queen: reassessing patriarchy in recent TurkishGerman coming-of-age films
in New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film
Berghahn D
(2010)
European Cinema in Motion
Berghahn D
(2015)
Media, Margins and Popular Culture
Berghahn, D
(2011)
New Directions in German Cinema
Berghahn, D
(2010)
Diasporas: Concepts, Identities, Intersections
| Title | Abgebrannt (Burnout) |
| Description | Verena S. Freytag was a member of the BABYLON training initiative in 2007 which helped her write and direct Abgebrannt (Burnout). It won Best Film ('Achtung Berlin - new berlin film award 2011'), and SR/ZDF- Script prize at the Max Ophüls Film Festival Saarbrücken, 2011. It went on theatrical release in Germany and premièred in the UK at the 2011 Cambridge Film Festival. BABYLON was founded in 2007 by AHRC Network member Gareth Jones. Examining the industrial context of migrant and diasporic cinema in Europe, the Network found tangible evidence that ethnic minority filmmakers across Europe and the UK experience considerable barriers in terms of attracting development funding and getting their films into production. This significant research finding encouraged Gareth Jones to found BABYLON, a cultural forum and development programme designed to support the creative ambitions of migrant and diasporic filmmakers from Europe's varied minorities. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2011 |
| Impact | BABYLON played a significant role in getting Verena S. Freytag's film made. |
| URL | http://www.abgebrannt-derfilm.de/ |
| Title | Baikonur |
| Description | Veit Helmer participated in the BABYLON audiovisual development initiative in 2009. BABYLON was founded in 2007 by AHRC Network member Gareth Jones. Examining the industrial context of migrant and diasporic cinema in Europe, the Network found tangible evidence that ethnic minority filmmakers across Europe and the UK experience considerable barriers in terms of attracting development funding and getting their films into production. This significant research finding encouraged Gareth Jones to found BABYLON, a cultural forum and development programme designed to support the creative ambitions of migrant and diasporic filmmakers from Europe's varied minorities. Baikonur was released by X-Verleih in Germany 1st September 2011. The film was co-produced by Veit Helmer Filmproduktion, Eurasia Film Production and Tandem Production, co-funded by ARD, Arte, BR, RBB, BKM and the Goethe Institut. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2011 |
| Impact | BABYLON played a significant role in the realisation of Helmer's film project. http://www.babylon-film.eu/news.php |
| URL | http://www.baikonur.com/ |
| Title | Kuma |
| Description | Umut Dag's film Kuma was co-written with BABYLON alumna Petra Ladinigg. BABYLON was founded in 2007 by AHRC Network member Gareth Jones. Examining the industrial context of migrant and diasporic cinema in Europe, the Network found tangible evidence that ethnic minority filmmakers across Europe and the UK experience considerable barriers in terms of attracting development funding and getting their films into production. This significant research finding encouraged Gareth Jones to found BABYLON, a cultural forum and development programme designed to support the creative ambitions of migrant and diasporic filmmakers from Europe's varied minorities. Kuma premiered at the International Berlin Film Festival in 2012 and has since been released in cinemas in eight countries including Austria, Germany, Spain, the UK and France, where it was distributed with 60 prints under the title Une seconde femme, attracting 36,710 viewers. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2012 |
| Impact | The BABYLON training initiative contributed to the script development of this film and made it possible for a film addressing issues of cultural diversity in Austria to gain public visibility. |
| URL | https://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/2012/02_programm_2012/02_Filmdatenblatt_2012_201218... |
| Title | Luks Glück |
| Description | Filmmaker Ayse Polat is an alumna of the BABYLON audiovisual development initiative. BABYLON was founded in 2007 by AHRC Network member Gareth Jones. Examining the industrial context of migrant and diasporic cinema in Europe, the Network found tangible evidence that ethnic minority filmmakers across Europe and the UK experience considerable barriers in terms of attracting development funding and getting their films into production. This significant research finding encouraged Gareth Jones to found BABYLON, a cultural forum and development programme designed to support the creative ambitions of migrant and diasporic filmmakers from Europe's varied minorities. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2010 |
| Impact | BABYLON provided training and support to Ayse Polat when she was developing the film Luks Glück. It has helped Kurdish diasporic filmmaker Polat to overcome obstacles in realising this project. |
| URL | http://www.filmportal.de/film/luks-glueck_7d7043ce8a88445d98839a7c3373c85e |
| Title | My Brother the Devil |
| Description | Writer-director Sally Hosaini has benefited from the audio-visual training initiative BABYLON. BABYLON was founded in 2007 by AHRC Network member Gareth Jones. Examining the industrial context of migrant and diasporic cinema in Europe, the Network found tangible evidence that ethnic minority filmmakers across Europe and the UK experience considerable barriers in terms of attracting development funding and getting their films into production. This significant research finding encouraged Gareth Jones to found BABYLON, a cultural forum and development programme designed to support the creative ambitions of migrant and diasporic filmmakers from Europe's varied minorities. Writer-director Sally Hosaini's film My Brother the Devil, which benefited from BABYLON support, was released in cinemas in the UK in 2012. It has also been shown on the festival circuit and received awards. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2012 |
| Impact | The film has raised public awareness of cultural diversity in the UK. See: http://www.babylon-film.eu/news.php |
| URL | http://www.vivaverve.com/article.php/160/my_brother_the_devil_ |
| Title | Shanghai-Belleville |
| Description | Director Show-Chun Lee and producer Juliette Grandmont both attended the BABYLON audiovisual training initiative in 2007. BABYLON was founded in 2007 by AHRC Network member Gareth Jones. Examining the industrial context of migrant and diasporic cinema in Europe, the Network found tangible evidence that ethnic minority filmmakers across Europe and the UK experience considerable barriers in terms of attracting development funding and getting their films into production. This significant research finding encouraged Gareth Jones to found BABYLON, a cultural forum and development programme designed to support the creative ambitions of migrant and diasporic filmmakers from Europe's varied minorities. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2012 |
| Impact | The director and producer benefited from the participation in the BABYLON audiovisual development programme, funded by Network member Gareth Jones and succeeded in getting their film made and into distribution. |
| URL | http://www.babylon-film.eu/news.php |
| Title | Son of Babylon |
| Description | Son of Babylon benefited from the film team's involvement in the BABYLON audiovisual development initiative. BABYLON was founded in 2007 by AHRC Network member Gareth Jones. Examining the industrial context of migrant and diasporic cinema in Europe, the Network found tangible evidence that ethnic minority filmmakers across Europe and the UK experience considerable barriers in terms of attracting development funding and getting their films into production. This significant research finding encouraged Gareth Jones to found BABYLON, a cultural forum and development programme designed to support the creative ambitions of migrant and diasporic filmmakers from Europe's varied minorities. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2010 |
| Impact | The BABYLON audiovisual development initiative was involved in the development of this film. Son of Babylon was Iraq's nomination for the Academy Awards in 2010 and was distributed in nine territories |
| URL | http://sonofbabylon.co.uk/ |
| Title | The War is Over |
| Description | This film by Macedonian filmmaker Mitko Panov was developed with the support of BABYLON. BABYLON was founded in 2007 by AHRC Network member Gareth Jones. Examining the industrial context of migrant and diasporic cinema in Europe, the Network found tangible evidence that ethnic minority filmmakers across Europe and the UK experience considerable barriers in terms of attracting development funding and getting their films into production. This significant research finding encouraged Gareth Jones to found BABYLON, a cultural forum and development programme designed to support the creative ambitions of migrant and diasporic filmmakers from Europe's varied minorities |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2010 |
| Impact | The film The War is Over was screened at several international film festivals and was shown in the the Republic of Macedonia, the US and Switzerland |
| URL | http://www.babylon-film.eu/news.php |
| Description | The AHRC Research Network 'Migrant and Diasporic Cinema in Contemporary Europe' consisted of eight researchers and one media practitioner who - in consultation with filmmakers, producers, distributors, policy makers and festival organisers - explored the evolution of migrant and diasporic cinemas in contemporary Europe over the thirty years. The Network has been concerned with how films made by migrant and diasporic filmmakers as well as productions which represent migratory or diasporic experiences have shaped and modified our understanding of European identity/ies, previously constructed and narrated within distinct national cinemas. The Network worked on the premise that multicultural and multiethnic presences and themes in contemporary European cinemas should not be studied in terms of their national specificity, because such critical paradigms do not adequately address the shift from the national to the transnational which has occurred since the early to mid-1980s. This shift has been fuelled by the long legacy of colonialism, the ongoing process of European integration, the geopolitical changes after the collapse of communism and the continuing influx of migrants to what is still perceived as the politically and economically stable heartland of Europe. Migrant and diasporic cinema in Europe, therefore, potentially refers to a multitude of social and ethnic groups, movements and histories, cultural heritages and practices. The Network endeavoured to establish a theoretical framework by analysing the new concept of 'migrant and diasporic cinema' in relation to the socio-political implications of existing terminology (including in languages other than English). Our attempt to locate migrant and diasporic cinema in relation to discourses of postcolonialism, globalisation, etc. as well as to current debates in film studies enabled us to identify the specificities of this 'cinema of dual occupancy', which make it distinct from other types of transnational cinema such as 'global Hollywood' or 'Europuddings'. We argue that the emergence of migrant and diasporic cinema has played a crucial role in the 'World Cinema turn' that has taken place in European cinema, both in academia and in the industry. |
| Exploitation Route | The Network has undertaken pioneering research on migrant and diasporic cinema and numerous other books, articles and doctoral theses make reference to the research findings of this project. It has also resulted in close collaboration with media practioners and the foundation of the audiovisual development initiative BABYLON Film (see under Impact) which has benefited migrant and diasporic filmmakers. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://www.migrantcinema.net/ |
| Description | Through the creation of various platforms of knowledge exchange, this AHRC Research Network has enhanced awareness of migrant and diasporic filmmaking amongst industry stakeholders and the cinema-going public and shaped cultural life. It has also inspired one of the Network members (filmmaker/producer Gareth Jones) to launch an audio-visual development programme, BABYLON, which has, in turn, supported film projects of ethnic minority filmmakers with a migratory background. Between 2007 and 2013, BABYLON provided workshop-based training for over one hundred filmmakers. Eight BABYLON alumni have succeeded in getting their films into production and theatrical distribution in the UK, continental Europe and further afield as well as winning awards on the international festival circuit. These eight films have been released in cinemas and some have received extensive press coverage in leading newspapers such as The Guardian, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Zeit and the trade press (Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Sight and Sound etc.). Son of Babylon was Iraq's nomination for the Academy Awards in 2010 and was distributed in nine territories. Kuma premiered at the International Berlin Film Festival in 2012 and has since been released in cinemas in eight countries including Austria, Germany, Spain, the UK and France, where it was distributed with 60 prints under the title Une seconde femme, attracting 36,710 viewers. In addition to providing the initial stimulus for the foundation of BABYLON, the Network has created numerous opportunities for knowledge exchange, consultancy and collaboration with high-profile minority filmmakers including John Akomfrah, Abdelkrim Bahloul, Feo Aladag, diversity consultant Parminder Vir, OBE, Eve Gabereau (Soda Pictures), producers Leslee Udwin (East is East and West is West) and Ralph Schwingel (Fatih Akin's Head-On) and Thierry Lenouvel (Ciné Sud Promotion). These have generated a more comprehensive understanding of diversity and equality issues amongst stakeholders in the media industry. Furthermore, at the International BFI London Film Festivals in 2011 and 2012, Jones convened industry panels entitled 'BABYLON Burning - a public debate on film diversity' and 'BABYLON Breakthrough'. A productive dialogue between Nadine Marsh-Edwards (producer, board member Film London), Nadia Denton (Black Film Magazine), Leslee Udwin, David Thomson (former Head of BBC Films, now Origin Pictures) amongst others ensued at these important forums. The PI, Daniela Berghahn, participated in the industry panel 'BABYLON Burning' in 2011, which received press coverage in BritFlicks. Berghahn designed a public-facing interactive website www.migrantcinema.net. Between March 2006 and November 2014, it has attracted 55,540 unique visitors with a total number of 154,692 page view. The website has raised the public visibility of the research and, as a result, the PI and Network participant Carrie Tarr were invited in October 2009 to contribute to an international symposium and a German television programme entitled 'Suddenly so much Heimat: Changing Identity in Film, Culture and Society'. The public symposium was organised by the WDR (West German Broadcasting Corporation) and held at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne. Berghahn was also interviewed for a documentary on the topic, broadcast by the WDR on 31 October 2009, watched by 90,000 viewers. The event and TV programme were initiated by the WDR's Commissioner for Integration and Cultural Diversity and the Head of Television Drama and Film. It brought together filmmakers, journalists, film critics, policy makers and international film scholars and promoted a new concept of Heimat, identity and belonging, thereby supporting the WDR's mission to promote cultural diversity and integration. In 2014, the PI and Network member Sarita Malik were invited to contribute to the 16th ZEMOS98 Festival in Seville. The Festival under the theme Remapping Europe brought together artists, NGOs, activists, journalists and a few academics. It was devoted to immigration in European societies and was funded by the European Cultural Foundation. Berghahn was subsequently invited to serve on the nomination panel for the ECF Princess Margriet Award. This annual Award is given to European artists and thinkers whose work shows the potential of culture in creating an inclusive Europe. In the REF2020, Berghahn's impact case study 'Representing Migration and Cultural Diversity in European Film(making)' was particularly commended by the REF sub-panel and was rated 4*. |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural |
| Description | BABYLON Film |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | The Research Network Migrant and Diasporic Cinema in Contemporary Europe has not only enhanced awareness of diasporic filmmaking amongst industry stakeholders and the cinema-going public, it has also led to the foundation of BABYLON, an audio-visual development programme which, in turn, has supported film projects of ethnic minority filmmakers with a migratory background. Between 2007 and 2013, BABYLON has provided workshop-based training for over one hundred filmmakers between 2007 and 2013. Eight BABYLON alumni have succeeded in getting their films into production and theatrical distribution in the UK, continental Europe and further afield and have garnered prestigious awards on the international festival circuit. |
| URL | http://www.babylon-film.eu/ |
| Description | Evolving understandings of communities: Connecting research, stakeholders and communities |
| Amount | £15,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Brunel University London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2012 |
| End | 07/2014 |
| Description | HARC Fellowship Welcoming Strangers |
| Amount | £2,943 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | n/a |
| Organisation | Royal Holloway, University of London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2011 |
| End | 07/2012 |
| Title | Interactive website www.migrantcinema.net with database of films and other resources |
| Description | The project website (http://www.migrantcinema.net/) enhances the visibility of the project and provides an accessible reference point for the academic community, representatives from the media industry and the interested public. Within the academic community, the website is an excellent tool for the exchange of ideas and information via an interactive discussion forum. The website provides information about the aims and objectives of the Migrant and Diasporic Cinema Network and documents the activities of the Network (conferences programmes and reports, public screenings and events with filmmakers, related publications, news). It also contains an electronic archive of resources (a film database, a bibliography, a glossary of terms, links to other websites and podcasts), which provide anyone interested in the field with a wealth of information. The lifespan of the project website has exceed that of the Network itself and is still live. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2006 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Between March 2006 and November 2014, the websiste / database www.migrantcinema.net has attracted 55,540 unique visitors with a total number of 154,692 page views. |
| URL | http://www.migrantcinema.net/ |
| Description | BABYLON Burning |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 'BABYLON Burning - a public debate on film diversity' was an Industry Panel at the London BFI Film Festival in 2011 to which Berghahn contributed. It fostered dialogue between media practioners, esp. ethnic minority, diasporic filmmakers, producers and other professionals and raised awareness about the obstacles these filmmakers are facing. A similar panel discussion was organised for the following year at the BFI Film Festival. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.babylon-film.eu/events.php |
| Description | Beur is beautiful: A retrospective of Maghrebi-French Cinema |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An international touring program of Maghrebi-French cinema, a flourishing trend that reflects upon the legacy of colonialism and the challenge of integration and assimilation that 'immigrant' populations face in France. The film programme was held in New York in November 2007, was curated by AHRC Network member Carrie Tarr. The film season brought to public attention films that might otherwise not get screened in the US. The touring film season raised public awareness of the Maghrebi-French filmmaking and the social issues addressed in these films. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2007 |
| URL | http://www.migrantcinema.net/links/detail/beur_is_beautiful_a_retrospective_of_maghrebi_french_cinem... |
| Description | Eve Gabereau (Soda Pictures UK), That's a World Music Film for Us @ The Industrial Context of Migrant and Diasporic Cinema |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Eve Gabereau, one of the managing directors of the UK film distribution company Soda Pictures, explained in an interview with Dominique Nasta that the scholarly classification of 'migrant and diasporic cinema' has little relevance in the distribution sector, where such films are classified as 'World Music films' or 'World Cinema'. The interview resulted in a very productive exchange of views with the audience afterwards. The event led to further collaboration and further information exchange between Network members and Soda Pictures |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2007 |
| URL | http://www.migrantcinema.net/podcasts/item/gabereau/ |
| Description | Far-Flung Families in Film Video Interview Facultimedia / You Tube |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I received further enquiries about my research into diasporic families in cinema. Further invitations to conferences, seminars, etc. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iElH586GzAI |
| Description | Hacking the Veil |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Professor Berghahn was invited by the European Cultural Foundation to contribute to the 16th ZEMOS 98 Festival in Seville. This year's Festival theme was Remapping Europe and the focus was on the representation of migrants in the media and their memories in transit. The encounter brought together artists, social activists, journalists and academics who, in a series of creative performances, working sessions and public conversations, explored three themes. The first day of the encounter was devoted to Hacking the Veil through challenging dominant media representations of immigrants. Daniela Berghahn acted as Teller, conveying the main findings of collaborative working sessions on Day 1 to the general public of the ZEMOS 98 Festival. One of the key issues explored with regard to Hacking the Veil was how we can challenge and deconstruct images of immigrants in dominant media discourse. Generate awareness of dominant media representations of immigrants amongst the wider public, artists and immigrant communities across Europe. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://16festival.eng.zemos98.org/Understanding-Hacking-the-Veil |
| Description | Inaugural Lecture at Research Centre, Cork, Ireland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Inaugural Public Lecture at the Centre for Advanced Studies of Languages and Cultures, University College Cork. Berghahn was invited to discuss her AHRC-funded research projects (Migrant cinema network and Fellowship about diasporic families in film) and explain how these projects generated further scholarship in the fields and significant impact in the creative industries. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://vimeo.com/130521857 |
| Description | Introduction to public film screening at Goethe Institute London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The screening of Almanya - Welcome to Germany about a Turkish German immigrant family was well attended, especially by teachers and pupils. It sparked a lively discussion and inspired some teachers to study the film with their pupils in more depth. The event raised awareness of a film not distributed in the UK and the social and cultural issues (prejudice, marginatlisation of ethnic minorities, integration, multiculturalism) that it addressed in an entertaining fashion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | John Akomfrah The Experience of Diasporic Filmmaking in the UK @ The Industrial Context of Migrant and Diasporic Cinema |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Black British filmmaker John Akomfrah was interviewed by Network Member Sarita Malik about his experience of diasporic filmmaking in the UK. The audience gained fresh and valuable insights and had the opportunity to discuss these with John Akomfrah. Network members received subsequent invitations to contribute to public events, festivals, etc. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2007 |
| URL | http://www.migrantcinema.net/podcasts/item/abdelkrim_bahloul/ |
| Description | Negotiating between Artistic Ambitions, Funding and the Market Place |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | The roundtable discussion was part of the conference The Diasporic Family in Cinema, organised by Berghahn. It aimed to explore how media practitioners negotiate between their artistic ambitions, the demands of the public funding bodies and the market in their construction of diasporic family life on screen and how these films intervene with ongoing media debates about hegemonic and minority cultures in Western societies. The roundtable discussion engendered a lively dialogue between media practitioners, academics and the public. The encounter of film producers and directors with a shared interest in independent cinema and ethnic minority/diasporic subjects led to further collaboration between them. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.farflungfamilies.net/podcasts/item/negotiating_between_artistic_ambitions_funding_and_the... |
| Description | Parminder Vir, OBE, Towards Transnationalism: Funding Policies and Networks @ The Industrial Context of Migrant and Diasporic Cinema |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Parminder Vir is responsible for establishing Ingenious World Cinema (IWC) at Ingenious Media Investments, which sources film projects from the new voices of international cinema including India, China, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina and the Diaspora for development, production and distribution. She brings 20 years of award winning production experience of drama, documentary, current affairs and entertainment, working for the BBC, ITV, Channel Four, major international channels and her own independent production company. She was interviewed by Network Co-I Claudia Sternberg and the wealth of information she shared sparked a lively debate. The podcast of this interview was downloaded many times and the Network received further information requests. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2007 |
| URL | http://www.migrantcinema.net/podcasts/item/parminder_vir/ |
| Description | Plötzlich so viel Heimat: Identität im Wandel in Film, Kultur und Gesellschaft' (Suddenly so much Heimat: Changing Identity in Film, Culture and Society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Professor Berghahn was invited to contribute to an international symposium and a German television programme entitled 'Suddenly so much Heimat: Changing Identity in Film, Culture and Society'. The public symposium was organised by the WDR (West German Broadcasting Corporation) and held at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne. Berghahn was also interviewed for a documentary on the topic, broadcast by the WDR on 31 October 2009, watched by 90,000 viewers. The event, which was accompanied by a film season (Heimat Feelings) broadcast by the WDR between October and November 2009, was initiated by the WDR's Commissioner for Integration and Cultural Diversity and the Head of Television Drama and Film. It brought together filmmakers, journalists, film critics, policy makers and international film scholars and promoted a new concept of Heimat, identity and belonging, thereby supporting the WDR's mission to promote cultural diversity and integration. As Berghahn's research demonstrates, Heimat may be a German word but in the age of transnational migration, it has gained new meanings for the transnationally mobile citizens of plural worlds. The symposium and TV documentary encouraged the public to re-think the concept of Heimat, conceiving of it in terms of integration. Changes in attitude are difficult to measure, but I am sure that the TV documentary, which was accompanied by a series of feature films about immigration, had a positive impact on Germans' perception of Heimat in relation to multiculturalism. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | Public Lecture and Q&A at British Museum, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In conjunction with the major exhibition 'Germany: Memories of a Nation', the British Museum screened a series of significant German films. One of these films was Gegen die Wand / Head-On by Turkish German director Fatih Akin. Berghahn was invited to give a public lecture, introducing the film and answer questions by the audience after the film screening. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Public film screening Almanya - Welcome to Germany and Q &; A session with Yasemin and Nesrin Samdereli |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Almanya - Welcome to Germany premiered at the International Film Festival in Berlin in 2011 and has won numerous prestigious awards, including the German Film Prize for Best Screenplay and has attracted almost 1.5 million viewers in Germany alone. Despite its domestic and international success, to date Almanya - Welcome to Germany has not yet had a theatrical release in the UK. The screening which Daniela Berghahn organised at the Ciné Lumière in London was the film's UK premiere. After the screening of Almanya - Welcome to Germany at the Ciné Lumière on 18 January 2012, Professor Daniela Berghahn interviewed the director-scriptwriter team, Yasemin and Nesrin Samdereli. The film and Q&A sparked a lively discussion with a large and diverse audience. Teachers expressed interest to teach the film at school and discuss it with their pupils |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://www.farflungfamilies.net/podcasts/item/q_a_session_with_filmmakers |
| Description | Public film screening and Q and A session with Ayse Polat, director of En Garde (in conjunction with Network Conference Migrant and Diasporic Cinema in Contemporary Europe) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The conference attracted some seventy delegates from eighteen different countries. Attached to it was a public film screening of Ayse Polat's film En Garde. The filmmaker answered questions from the public in a question and answer session. It raised awareness amongst filmmakers, the academic community and the cinema-going public of the emergence of a new type of transnational cinema. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2006 |
| URL | http://www.migrantcinema.net/news/story/information_for_july_2006_conference_published/ |
| Description | Public film screening of I for India and Q & A with filmmaker Sandhya Suri |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In the context of the conference The Diasporic Family in Cinema, which Daniela Berghahn organised in London on 21 May 2011, Sandhya Suri's documentary I FOR INDIA was shown. The screening was advertised to the general public even though the venue was not a commercial cinema. Suri's documentary is a chronicle of immigration in Britain, from the 1960s to the present day, as seen through the eyes of the filmmaker's own family and her father's movie camera. Sandhya Suri was able to use an extensive archive of cine letters and tape recordings, which her father Yash Pal Suri, a surgeon based in Britain, and her uncle, based in Meerut, India, exchanged over a period of forty odd years. Conference delegates appreciated the opportunity to discuss this intensely personal film with the filmmaker in a Q&A after the screening. Since the film was not widely released in the UK, for many delegates the screening at SOAS's Khalili Lecture Theatre was a genuine discovery of a very important diasporic family film. As one conference delegate commented, "I felt it was extremely important to have a first-hand illustration of a real diasporic family and their experiences. The documentary certainly confirmed the issues raised throughout the conference and supported the idea of the idea that diasporic family films have universal appeal." Audience discussion suggested that there were changes in perception of immigrant families and their perceived 'otherness'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.farflungfamilies.net/events/item/the_diasporic_family_in_cinema |
| Description | Public film screening of Soleil Assassiné and Q and A session with Abdelkrim Bahloul |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Research Network Abdelkrim Bahlouhl's film at the Ciné Lumière in London, which was the UK premiere. The audience consisting of the public and conference participants (The Industrial Context of Migrant and Diasporic Cinema) had the chance to discuss the socio-political context of pieds noir in North Africa with the director afterwards. Increased visits to the website www.migrantcinema.net which features a podcast with Abdelkrim Bahloul, recorded at the conference. This suggests that the public event raised awareness and interest. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2007 |
| URL | http://www.migrantcinema.net/podcasts/item/abdelkrim_bahloul/ |
| Description | Public film screening of The Night of Destiny followed by Q & A session with Abdelkrim Bahloul |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was at the first UK screening of The Night of Destiny by Bahloul. The Q and A session afterwards sparked a lively debate about the issues raised in this film. The website www.migrantcinema.net, where an interview with Bahloul recorded on the following day at the conference The Industrial Context of Migrant and Diasporic Cinema is persevered as a podcast received increased visits and the podcast was downloaded. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2007 |
| URL | http://www.migrantcinema.net/podcasts/item/abdelkrim_bahloul/ |
| Description | Public film screening of When We Leave and Q&A session with Feo Aladag |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The conference The Diasporic Family in Cinema was followed by a public film screening of Feo Aladag's award-winning film When We Leave at the Ciné Lumière in London. The feature film about an honour killing in a Turkish German family was Germany's Oscar nomination for 2011 and garnered a long list of prestigious awards, but has so far not found a UK distributor. It was, therefore, particularly rewarding to be able to make this important film accessible to a cinéphile audience (approx. 100 tickets were sold) who was eager to discuss not just the film's political and humanist message but also its remarkable cinematography in a stimulating Q&A session with writer-director Feo Aladag and Daniela Berghahn after the screening. Raised awareness in the audience of the controversial issue of honour killings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.farflungfamilies.net/events/item/the_diasporic_family_in_cinema |
| Description | Public lecture 'Families in motion: Migration with a touch of magic' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This public lecture was given by Daniela Berghahn prior to a public film screening of Almanya - Welcome to Germany (dir. Yasemin Samdereli, 2011) at the Ciné Lumière in London. Abstract: Almanya - Welcome to Germany reconfigures earlier cinematic accounts of Turkish German migration and diaspora. It is the first cinematic representation of a Turkish German family spanning three generations. Whereas earlier diasporic family films, including Solino or The April Children focus on the first and second generations, Almanya, as well as the Maghrebi French Couscous, portray a three-generational extended family, comfortably settled in the 'host country' and with no desire to return to their 'homeland' for good. In contrast to other films in which the Turkish migrants are 'othered' on account of their different cultural values, language and religion, in Almanya, the Germans are 'the other'. The film's innovative aesthetics is achieved by a clever juxtaposition of archival footage, which conveys a sense of documentary realism and, by implication, historical authenticity, and magical realist sequences whose visual exuberance is in keeping with the vivid imagination the little boy Cenk, from whose point of view the story is told. In his flights of fancy the mundane and the difficult aspects of the migrant experience are commingled with the improbable and fantastic. Two school classes completed questionnaires about the film and Q&A with filmmakers and described how it affected their perception of immigrants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://www.farflungfamilies.net/podcasts/item/families_in_motion_migration_with_a_touch_of_magic |
| Description | Ralph Schwingel (Wüste Film, Germany): Moving Turkish-German Cinema into the Mainstream @ The Industrial Context of Migrant and Diasporic Cinema |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Ralph Schwingel, managing director of Wüste Film in Germany, has produced several films by Fatih Akin, the highly acclaimed Turkish German director. In an interview with PI Daniela Berghahn he shared his experience of producing and marketing Turkish German films in Germany and internationally. The audience gained invaluable insights into the processes of film production, marketing and sales of diasporic cinema and had the chance to discuss this with Schwingel. Further requests for information; downloading of the podcast which archives the interview. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2007 |
| URL | http://www.migrantcinema.net/podcasts/item/ralph_schwingel/ |
| Description | The AHRC devoted a two-page case study to the second conference organised by the Network in Podium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | (Autumn 2007, no. 7, pp. 10-11) The feature article in PODIUM explained the Knowledge Exchange strategy of the Network. It resulted in requests for information by other academics who wish to achieve public dissemination and impact of their research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2007 |
| Description | Welcoming Strangers: Insights into Immigration on Film |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This public event, consisting of a lecture (see separate output), a film screening of Almanya - Welcome to Germany (Yasemin Samdereli, Germany 2011) and the Q&A session with the filmmakers Yasemin and Nesrin Samdereli allowed Daniela Berghahn to disseminate some the research findings of her AHRC-funded project The Diasporic Family in Cinema to the general public. It also gave the British public the opportunity to watch a film which has taken the German box-office by storm (with more than 1.4 million viewers) since it premiered at the International Berlin Film Festival in 2011 but which has not yet had a theatrical release in Britain. Changed awareness of immigrants in our society (pupils in audience completed and returned questionnaires) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://www.farflungfamilies.net/events/item/welcoming_strangers_almanya_welcome_to_germany |