UTOPIA on film: Congo, the Arab Spring, Iran (Woman/Life/Freedom),
When:
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Venue:
Birkbeck Main Building, Malet Street
Birkbeck Institute for Social Research, Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image, and the Centre for Environment & Sustainability as part of their Understanding how to Transform Our Planet and Imagine Alternative (UTOPIA) futures collaboration present a screening of three films about events in which protestors overturned existing realities even while falling far short of their desired outcomes: Patrice Lumumba's MNC overturned Belgian colonial rule and he was elected president only to be assassinated by secessionist forces supported by Belgian/USA/UK and the UN. Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat (Grimonprez, 2024, 150 min) weaves African American jazz through this story showing how the USA sought to use African American musicians as part of their cultural cold war strategy; The Square (Jehane Noujaim, 2013), 108 min) documents the 17 days of extraordinary protests that forced Mubarak to resign after 30 years of authoritarian rule; and The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Rasoulof, 2025, 167 min) tells a fictionalised account of how one family confronts the meaning of 'woman/life/freedom' in their own home leading to a euphoric and magical realist conclusion.
Screen times: The Seed of the Sacred Fig 10.30 am to 1.30 pm, The Square 1.30 pm to 3.20 pm, Soundtrack 3.30 pm to 6 pm
Contact name: Karen Wells
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