Euro 2016: Allez les Bleus!

In eager anticipation of Euro 2016 in France, the French Institute’s Ciné Lumière held a series of films and talks. The series was entitled “Art and Football: A Perfect Match?”

 Introducing On the Road with Sócrates at Ciné Lumière 

I attended the first film and talk: On the Road with Sócrates (Sur la route avec Sócrates). During the 2014 World Cup, Dany Cohn-Bendit headed to Brazil. His original plan involved meeting up with his friend, the famous Brazilian football player, Sócrates. Unfortunately, Sócrates died in 2011. Instead Dany toured Brazil in a mobile home painted in his honour (see tweeted photo below). He met up with many people who knew Sócrates.

Dany travelling in Brazil with Sócrates in spirit

Dany discussed the impact of football on Brazil. Two moments stood out in the film. The first was a visit to the indigenous boy who appeared as a mascot on the pitch – unfurling a protest banner unseen by the world’s TV cameras.

The second was the agony on Brazilian faces in a café as their team lost 1-7 to Germany in the semi-final. As an England supporter, I am accustomed to the agony of watching my national team. (Please Euro 2016 spare us penalties). The agony on the faces of Brazilians accustomed to winning in style was one of the film’s most powerful sequences. You could feel every goal go in with every Brazilian wince. No need to see the game on screen at all.

Dany Cohn-Bendit was present during the film. He discussed Sócrates, how the film was made and its special moments afterwards.

Talk with Dany Cohn-Bendit after the film at Institut Français

Underdogs triumph

The UEFA European Championship is an incredible tournament. It has had many great moments in the past. It’s good for football when the underdogs win – as when Denmark won unexpectedly in 1992 or when Greece won in 2004.

I treasure memories of watching Euro 1996 at Wembley. It is great when the home nation qualifies for the later stages. Then the whole nation gets excited – including those not normally interested in football. Flags appear in every window and on every vehicle.

Euro 2016

I’m looking forward to a fantastic tournament in France for Euro 2016. Let’s have a great championship played in the best spirit of the game.

The opening match is France v. Romania on 10^th June. England and Wales play their first matches the day after. Just days away… Allez les bleus!

Video copyright: vladbarza

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European Language and Cultural Events – August 2016

1-31 August

Intensive Course in Translation Technology

UCL

London

UK

5-21 August

Olympic Games 2016 

Rio de Janiero

Brazil

5-29 August

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Edinburgh

Scotland

8-10 August

ITI Translate in Cambridge

Kings College

Cambridge

UK

8-14 August

Fringe by the Sea

North Berwick

Scotland

11 August

Audio-described Tour for 

Visually-impaired Visitors – 

Summer Exhibition

InTouch event at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA)

Burlington House

London
UK

11-14 August

Bristol International Balloon Fiesta

Ashton Court Estate

Bristol

UK

12-15 August

20th Flower Carpet Anniversary

Brussels

Belgium

Theme: 150 years of Belgo-Japanese friendship

13 August

Le français québécois, qu’est-ce que ça mange en hiver ?

ITI French Network

Imperial College London, UK

13 August 12-10pm

Holi Festival of Colours London

Wembley Park

London

UK

15-27 August

Short courses for Conference Interpreters with English B

AIIC Courses

London

UK

18 August

Guided Historic Pubs Walk 

around St Paul’s area, London, UK

ITI London Regional Group event

21-28 August

Hans Christian Andersen Festivals

Odense

Denmark

22 August-2 September

CETRA Summer School

University of Leuven

Antwerp Campus

Antwerp

Belgium

26 August-4 September

Aarhus Festival

Theme: Upside Down

27-29 August

Notting Hill Carnival

Notting Hill

London, UK

NB: Inclusion in this list does not constitute endorsement of any conference, event or third party by Anglicity Ltd. This list is for information purposes only. All details should be checked on the organisers' websites, as they may be subject to change.

London's Brazil Day 2015

Brazil Day 2015 stage and beach volleyball court

Brazil took over London's Trafalgar Square on Saturday 8th August. The colours were yellow and green everywhere.  

Brazil Day 2015 was staged in eager anticipation of the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics. There was music, dancing, singing, Brazilian food and even beach volleyball. 

Brazilian Singers and Dancers on the Brazil Day 2015 stage

The crowds turned out in strength on a warm summer afternoon and evening. Not quite Brazilian weather perhaps. The temperature and the crowd were nonetheless warm.

It was great to see beach volleyball back in Central London. It brought back memories of one of the most entertaining events at the London 2012 Olympics on Horse Guards Parade.

The Gift Horse on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square

Hans Haacke's Gift Horse on the Fourth Plinth looked as if he could do with fattening up. He could perhaps have done with some of my spicy Brazilian chicken and sweet potato fries.

Brazilian Spicy Barbecued Chicken and Sweet Potato Fries

On a more serious note, the skeletal statue is meant to convey the gap between rich and poor for the City. It should probably also draw attention to the gap between rich and poor in Brazil.

Sport and culture are great levellers. Whatever the current difficulties, I am sure the Brazilian people will stage the first South American Olympics and Paralympics with their characteristic welcome and enthusiasm in 2016.

Email karen@anglicity.com for information on Anglicity's content writing services.

Brazilian Dance Spectacle

The Brazilians are well-known for worldwide for their colourful and exuberant carnivals and parties. Giving a Brazilian flavour to a family celebration evening seemed the perfect recipe. We celebrated in style by attending Baila Brazil at the Royal Festival Hall.

On Saturday 15th August the Balé de Rua dance company staged their final performance in London. Oh yes, it was loud, colourful, energetic and exuberant. The show was as The Scotsman described:

"Stunning. If only, I'd had a sixth star at my disposal."

Baila Brazil has travelled the world since it opened in Sydney, Australia. Over 500,000 performances in 13 cities later, it was London's turn. The company has come a long way. Born of an art project in the favelas, its dancers were discovered at the Biennale de la Danse in Lyon in 2002. Today's professional dancers all trained in the project's free schools.

I was somewhat nonplussed at the beginning. A troupe of male dancers dressed as women was totally unexpected. For the majority of the evening, they were more scantily clad than the two women. That made a pleasant change.

The dancing was simply amazing. I didn't realise that the human body could even bend in such ways - let alone dance in them.

Alexia Falcão Lopes had a great voice. She kept going throughout the noisy, unrelenting show without showing any strain in her voice. She even sang centre-stage without flinching as acrobatics were performed about her ears.

The range of dancing was incredible. I particularly enjoyed the breakdancing. I don't remember seeing a show before in which so much was danced upside down. The head-spinning on a raised platform was breathtaking.

A number of cultural influences seemed to be at play in the dances. The slavery scenes were particularly powerful. They stood out for their change of tone and pace.

I lost track of how many encores there were. The performers didn't want to stop singing and dancing. They still had energy and enthusiasm to burn. They came out into the audience to dance. We all clapped and sang along as invited.

The drummers were brilliant. You could feel the rhythm pulsating through the floor,  your feet, ears and even in your heart during the show.

We could still feel the Brazilian beat and energy, as we spilled out smiling into a warm summer evening on London's South Bank.

Just can't wait for the opening ceremonies of the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics. We'd all better start preparing our superlatives for the spectacles to come.

 

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Salt of the Earth

Salt of the Earth is a documentary on the life and work of Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado. German film-maker Wim Wenders co-directed it with Salgado's son Juliano. I saw it at the French Institute's Ciné Lumière in London.

The Salt of the Earth title refers to humanity. During an award-winning career, Salgada has recorded some of the world's major events with his camera. The film shows many of his still photographs in black and white. The images are both stark and powerful.

Brazilian gold mine

The documentary opens with a blank screen. Then, you see yourself looking down over a large, open-cast gold mine in Brazil. The miners resemble ants. It looks like Hell on Earth - yet that experience is saved for later in the film. The miners at least had the hope a rich seam of gold, as they carried their sacks of mud up ladders in a fast, steep climb.

Infant mortality

One of the most touching early scenes was set in North East Brazil. Infant mortality rates are high. Death is part of everyday life. Coffins-to-rent are lined up against the wall alongside fruit and vegetables for the living. If a child dies unbaptised its eyes are left open. They hope that it will still find the way from Limbo to Heaven.

Arctic

Juliano speaks of his father as a sort of superhero, who came and went on his photographic adventures throughout much of his childhood. He relished the chance to accompany his father. Together they go to the Arctic to photograph walruses and polar bears. Here, we also see some of the boredom and frustration at having to wait around for the desired shot and composition - never mind the discomfort of having to roll over hard pebbles to ultimately get close enough unseen.

Kuwait

Salgado captures the human spirit battling against seemingly impossible odds. In Kuwait, we see the burning oil wells in 1991. He captures the spirit of Canadian fireman still polishing up their fire engine at the end of a long, exhausting day - even though they know it will be covered with oil and dirt again in the morning. He shows the Kuwaiti royal family's thoroughbred horses driven mad by being left behind, trapped.

Africa

We see famine in Africa. A father carries his son only for him to die as they reach the doctor. Salgado shows others who survive, but whose lives and health will still be blighted by the experience. 

Rwanda

The most powerful shots are of the Rwandan refugees fleeing genocide. Salgado captures many traumatised souls in his lens on their trek between Rwanda and DRC. 210,000 did not make it. Those that did were sent back. He speaks of having to lay down his camera at times in tears. Some pictures are unbearable. He saw the real scenes in motion with his own eyes. He says:

"We [...] didn't deserve to live; no-one deserved to live. When I left there I no longer believed in anything".

Rebirth in Brazil

After the Hell on Earth that was Rwanda, Salgado said he felt sick without being physically sick. It was his wife Léila who raised the family morale. They replanted trees on the barren slopes of the once green family farm. She started something that others copied. The forest and its animals returned.

Together the Salgados created the Instituto Terra. Today, it serves as a testament to the power of the human spirit and nature to recover. 

Karen Andrews runs Anglicity Ltd. She is an entrepreneurial French to English translator, editor, content writer and marketing consultant. 
Contact karen@anglicity.com for further information on Anglicity's services.