CWCDC partner with 31st Leeds International Film Festival

This year the Centre for World Cinemas and Digital Cultures has partnered with the 31st Leeds International Film Festival to deliver a series of international events called 'Voicing Hidden Histories'.

The Centre for World Cinemas and Digital Cultures has partnered with the 31st Leeds International Film Festival to deliver a series of international events called 'Voicing Hidden Histories' (12-15 Nov 2017) that explores participatory arts and activist filmmaking across the world.

The event series is a culmination of Prof Paul Cooke, Prof Stephanie Dennison and Prof Will Gould's AHRC GCRF project 'Voicing Hidden Histories: Troubling the National Brand' - a participatory film project that explores the potential for community filmmaking to empower marginalised communities in Brazil, South Africa and India to challenge national soft power narratives. It also signals the beginning of Prof. Cooke's most recent GCRF Network Plus grant, "Changing the Story: Building Inclusive Societies With and For Young People in 5 Post-Conflict Countries". 

The four days of activities includes:

1. Change the Story (12 Nov): A one-day activist filmmaking workshop for 18-25 year olds across Leeds, working in partnership with Oxygen Films, Indian filmmaker Dakxin Chhara Bajrange and South African filmmakers Daniela Wegrostek.
2. Sameer Premiere plus Director and Producer Q&A (13 Nov): European premiere of the Indian political thriller Sameer, directed by one of our Voicing Hidden Histories partners Dakxin Chhara Bajrange and introduced by Prof. Will Gould. (Additional funding provided by the OWRI Cross Language Dynamics Fund).
3. Voicing Hidden Histories Day 1 (14 Nov): An international academic seminar on participatory arts in International development, featuring speakers from nine different countries
4. Voicing Hidden Histories Celebration Evening (14 Nov): A celebration evening of film, music and theatre linked to the Voicing Hidden Histories Project at The Carraigeworks Studio Theatre. The event also formally launches Prof Cooke's GCRF grant 'Changing the Story' as well as Dr Thea Pitman's latest AHRC project 'Sumak Kawsay and the Sustainable Development Agenda: Critical Debates and Creative Responses from a Latin American Indigenous Perspective'.
5. Voicing Hidden Histories Day 2 (15 Nov): A public conference on film and activism at the Hyde Park Picture House, featuring screenings and discussions from a broad range of academics, artists and activists, working with the Radical Film Network.

All events are free and open to the public (excepting Change the Story, applications for which are now closed). Booking is essential. 

For more information and to book visit the CWCDC Eventbrite Page for the Sameer screening, and the Leeds International Film Festival website for all other events.

Production of the event series is managed by Inés Soria-Turner. For any enquiries please contact her on: i.soria-turner@leeds.ac.uk

These events have been generously sponsored by the AHRC, with support from Leeds International Film Festival, Hyde Park Picture House, and the Radical Film Network.