Most people would feel proud of saving hundreds of mainly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia just before the outbreak of World War II. But Sir Nicholas Winton was haunted by all the children he couldn’t save. Until a surprise 50 years later on a TV programme showed him all the good he had done. A new … Continue reading “Doing the Right Thing”
The This is England short-film festival in Rouen has a specific programme of short films for CM1, CM2 and 6e classes that explore original and age-appropriate ways to tackle difficulties faced by children. If you sign up for a jeune public showing, your students will see five films ranging in length from 4m20 to 14 … Continue reading “This is England 2023 films for Young Learners”
At age 87, veteran British filmmaker Ken Loach says The Old Oak will be his last film and it closes the trilogy set in the north-east of England after I, Daniel Blake (Cannes Palme d’or 2016) and Sorry We Missed You (2019). It looks at the arrival of a group of Syrian refugees to be … Continue reading “Ken Loach Trying to See the Hope”
The second edition of the Festival du film celtique will take place at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris on the evenings of 11 and 12 April. Feature and short films from Scotland and Wales will be shown, with lots of opportunity to talk to filmmakers. There are a few invitations available. On Monday … Continue reading “Free Celtic Film Festival”
Magnum photographer Steve McCurry may not be a household name but his photos are instantly recognisable, especially one of a young Afghan girl taken in Pakistan where her family had taken refuge in 1984. A retrospective at the Musée Maillol in Paris takes visitors around the world in his footsteps, to India, Papua New Guinea, … Continue reading “Around the World in 150 Photos”
The Walk with Little Amal project aims to raise awareness of the plight of refugees and particularly refugee children. As Amal makes an 8,000 km journey across Europe on foot, the project hopes to help other children think about the issue, and they’ve provided lots of educational tools to help teachers explore the topic in … Continue reading “Teaching about Refugees”
This inspiring documentary features teen activists around the world who see a problem and try to fix it. From Malawi to Colorado they are fighting pollution, opposing child marriage, supporting education, freedom of speech and sustainable agriculture and demanding rights for the planet and indigenous people. Melati Wijsen and her sister founded Bye Bye Plastic … Continue reading “Bigger Than Us”
Little Amal is anything but small: she’s a giant puppet of a Syrian refugee girl making her way across Europe. The 3.5-metre-tall puppet began an 8,000 kilometre journey in Turkey on 27 July. After the south of France in September, she’ll be making stops across the north in October before embarking for the U.K. The … Continue reading “Walking Across Europe for Refugees”
The 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to Abdulrazak Gurnah from Tanzania, whose own experience of colonialism and exile have informed his ten novels as well as short stories and academic works. Gurnah was born in 1948 and brought in the island nation of Zanzibar off the coast of East Africa. At the … Continue reading “2021 Nobel Prize for Literature Turns the Spotlight on East Africa”
The Dinard British Film Festival is over for another year. But before it closed, the juries announced the winners of the various prizes. Here is a rundown. Limbo by Ben Sharrock won both the Hitchcock d’Or Ciné + and the feature-film audience prize. The film was selected for the 2020 Cannes Festival (which didn’t take … Continue reading “Winning Films at Dinard”