5th BASQUE, CATALAN and GALICIAN CINEMA SEASON

We are pleased to invite you to the 5th BASQUE, CATALAN and GALICIAN CINEMA SEASON. This year’s season will be celebrated in May and will take place at the MAC Birmingham.

All films will be projected in original version with English subtitles. This event is free and open to all.

The activity has been organized thanks to the support of the Etxepare Basque Institute, the Institut Ramon Llull, the Xunta de Galicia and the University of Birmingham.






Thursday, 7th May, 2.30 pm: Basque film Aupa Etxebeste (Hurray Etxebeste), directed by Asier Altuna and Telmo Esnal. The directors Asier Altuna and Telmo Esnal will be with us to take part in a question and answer session after the screening. 


Fore more information on the film click here.


Thursday, 21st May, 2.30 pm: Catalan film Tots volem el millor per a ella (We all want what’s best for her), directed by Mar Coll. The director Mar Coll will be with us to discuss the film after the screening.


For more information on the film click here.


Thursday, 28th May, 2.30 pm: Galician film Encallados (Stranded), directed by Alfonso Zarauza. The director Alfonso Zarauza will be with us to discuss the film after the screening.


For more information on the film click here.


We hope to see you there!


Ira Ortigosa, Basque Studies
Elisenda Marcer, Catalan Studies
Gemma Segura, Catalan Studies
Paloma Serrapio, Centre for Galician Studies

Intervencions artístiques en l'espai virtual (Convocatòria de comunicacions)

18 i 19 de juny 2015 - Universitat de Birmingham 

Durant els anys 1970 tingueren lloc a Catalunya diversos moviments de dissidència artística i cultural que es caracteritzaren per la incorporació del vídeoart i la inserció del codi visual en les arts i la literatura. Barcelona, amb totes les seves especificitats contextuals, esdevingué un dels nuclis urbans d’experimentació més actius de la Península Ibèrica. La integració de la tecnologia en l’obra d’art va permetre que artistes i poetes transgredissin les fronteres geogràfiques, polítiques i sociolingüístiques, tot facilitant que l’obra d’art viatgés més enllà dels límits espaciotemporals i connectés amb altres espais geopolítics i/o realitats. L’autèntica transformació experimentada per les pràctiques audiovisuals durant els anys vuitanta va aconseguir que expressions artístiques com el vídeoart excedissin els àmbits més especialitzats i marginals de la cultura per arribar a l’espai públic. L’ús del digital media i del vídeo no trigà a proliferar i la presència i visibilitat d’aquestes formes innovadores d’art ben aviat transgrediren els límits nacionals per arribar a un públic més ampli i heterogeni. Aquest congrés interdisciplinari de dos dies pretén promoure el diàleg entre acadèmics, artistes poetes i directors de cinema experimental sobre aspectes de caràcter temàtic, formal, estètic i discursiu en relació amb la incorporació de la tecnologia digital en les pràctiques poètiques i artístiques a Catalunya, a partir dels anys setanta.

S’accepten propostes de comunicació d’una durada de 20 minuts en anglès, castellà i català. Per a participar al congrés, envieu un resum de 150 paraules entorn dels temes suggerits a continuació a l’adreça artisticinterventionsvirtual@gmail.com abans del 30 d’abril de 2015.

Art efímer | Desmaterialització | Art virtual | Narratives urbanes | Performance | Vídeo | Poesia concreta | Temporalitat | DansaPoesia sonora | Instal·lació | Poesia digital | Permanència i conservació | Poesia visual

Es comunicarà l’acceptació de la proposata a mitjan maig.

Organitzadores:

Dr Eva Bru-Domínguez School of Modern Languages and Cultures Bangor University
Dr Elisenda Marcer Department of Modern Languages University of Birmingham

https://artisticinterventionsvirtualspace.wordpress.com 

Vivamos como galegos! Nation, emotions and (super)market

The Centre for Galician Studies will soon welcome Dr Helena González Fernández from the University of Barcelona to give a seminar with the title “Vivamos como galegos! Nation, emotions and (super)market”.

Dr Helena González Fernández is Lecturer in Galician literature and Director of the Centre Dona i Literatura at the University of Barcelona. The main themes of her research are feminist literary criticism, popular culture, Galician contemporary literature, and cultural relations between Galicia and Catalonia.

Her seminar will offer a critical reading of the advertisements of a well-known chain of Galician supermarkets. The ads of this company are quite conservative, but also very popular, and they allow for reflecting on the current society and icons of the popular culture of Galicia.

When? Monday 9^th of March at 4 pm

Where? Ashley Building, room 121a

If you are interested in attending this activity, please drop a quick email to p.serrapio@bham.ac.uk to book a place. 

INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATES OF CATALAN LANGUAGE

Yesterday, 17th of February 2015, began the registration period for the official Catalan language exams.

Institut Ramon Llull’s Certificates allows you to prove your level of knowledge of Catalan in both the academic and employment purposes (government, companies, institutions) and are divided into five levels according to the Common European Framework of Reference for languages: Nivell bàsic (A2), Nivell elemental (B1), Nivell intermedi (B2), Nivell de suficiència (C1), Nivell superior (C2).

All of them will take place at the University of Birmingham. Here are the dates for the International Certificate of Catalan Language exams. To register click on the following link: http://oficinavirtual.llull.cat/certificats/

For further information, check the website: http://www.llull.cat/catala/aprendre_catala/certificats_examens.cfm

Or contact directly Gemma Segura: g.segura@bham.ac.uk

TALK ON THE FILM-DOCUMENTARY “MAI ÉS TAN FOSC” (IT'S NEVER DARKER) WITH ÈRIKA SÁNCHEZ

Catalan Studies at the University of Birmingham is pleased to invite you to the screening of the road movie “Mai és tan fosc” (It’s never darker) directed by Èrika Sánchez. This documentary draws a portrait of Arcadi Oliveres through his fascinating biography and the evolution of social movements. (24th February, 4-6pm, Muirhead Tower G15, UoB).

Arcadi Oliveres is a Catalan economist and a renowned activist for social justice and peace. In all these years, Arcadi Oliveres has devoted his energies to many issues: the reporting of external debt, inequality, unfair North-South economic relations, war, militarism, military research and military expenditure; the need for increased development aid in favor of disarmament, the recognition of conscientious objection to military service and military spending in favor of the promotion of responsible consumption, ethical banking and the ways of a “solidarity economy”, etc.

Èrika Sánchez is a director born in Barcelona in 1983. She earned a degree in Audiovisual Communication for the Universitat Ramon Llull. She also has a  Masters in Management and Production. She has made shorts and documentaries, and she has been producing experimental, poetic and political films around migration, labor and new ways of repoliticising citizens.

When? Wednesday, 24th of February, at 4pm – 6pm

Where? Muirhead Tower, G15, Edgbaston Campus, University of Birmingham

The activity will be conducted in English and Catalan, with simultaneous translation. We encourage you to come along and discover more about the World Economy through this genius Arcadi Oliveres.

If you are interested in taking part in this activity, just come along to the venue before prior the start of the film.