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

For information about Anglicity's translation, editing and content writing services, please email karen@anglicity.com

Ice and the Sky Review

The cinema was as desolate as the Antarctic wastes in the film. Apparently, London’s expat French community had already headed home for Christmas. I had come to see the Luc Jacquet’s stunning Ice and the Sky at the French Institute’s Ciné Lumière. The quiet cinema only served to heighten my appreciation of the often lonely figure of Claude Lorius on screen.

COP21 release

This film was released to coincide with COP21, the 2015 United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris. The French glaciologist, Claude Lorius spent over 10 years of his life in extreme conditions. He went on 22 polar expeditions between 1957 and 1985.

The film's French name is La Glace et le Ciel 

Lorius at all ages

Ice and Sky tells the story of his life and groundbreaking climate research. It combines old film footage with beautiful shots of Antarctica. We see Claude Lorius as an enthusiastic young adventurer. We see teams of scientists drilling into the ice and carefully packing the ice samples for later analysis. We see staged shots of the reflective old man, now aged 82/3.

Eureka

A scientist’s eureka moment is often mundane. An apple fell on Newton’s head. Hawking got his head stuck in a jumper. For Lorius, it was a piece of Antarctic ice dropped into a glass of whiskey. He realised that the air bubbles released might tell a tale. 

Evidence

So it proved. There was evidence of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Evidence of man’s adverse effect on the planet could even be found in Antarctica’s virgin territory. He went on to sound the alarm on global warming and expose Man’s devastating impact on the world’s climate.

Painstaking accuracy

We hear of the scientist’s concern to record his findings accurately even in the bitterest cold. Removing your gloves to write is a painful experience in Antarctica.

Bitter pill

The old man on screen seemed sad and forlorn. His life’s work has been climatic in more ways than one. He has won prestigious awards for his research. And yet, the call for climate action has been hard. Awards become a bitter pill, if your research is not taken seriously.

Lost voice

In the film, he has no voice. His words are narrated or captured in old footage. A voice taken away as his findings were denied for so many years.

Critics

Film critics have slated Jacquet’s shot of Lorius up to his knees in water as manipulative. People only really understand research implications when they are presented visually. I’m sure those who had to wade through flood waters in Britain this Christmas get the picture.

Retrospective

At the end of 2014, I wrote my ambitious hopes for the world in Climate Change: seeking an impossible solution.  I also wrote about the Paris launch in COP21 World's Last Chance. My impression is that the UN climate talks delivered an agreement that was better than anticipated at this time last year.

Beauty and thought

Ice and Sky is a thought-provoking film. It has certainly provoked my thinking. Its cinematography was perhaps too beautifully French for its serious global message.

Epilogue?

The film deserves an epilogue. We should hear from Claude Lorius on camera, and in his own voice, how he feels about his life’s work following COP21 – and hopefully see him smile.

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.

How to reach a disinterested target audience

'A great, great film' according to the Telegraph's 2014 Cannes Film Festival review. Why did the restless Ciné Lumière audience shuffle out disappointed then? They muttered that the very same 3-hour film was too long and boring.

Frederick Wiseman's documentary on Britain's National Gallery has some rave reviews. I went to see it at the French Institute's cinema. Afterwards, I wondered what marketing techniques might work with a disinterested target audience. What appeals to one audience leaves another completely cold. The finer points of human translation go largely unappreciated. Can we learn from the marketing techniques used by an art gallery? Could they help win over a public besotted with machine translation? Over the coming week, I will post blogs on targeting a disinterested audience.

Right at the beginning of the film, senior gallery management expressed the desire to appeal to a wider audience. Their very involvement and comments were often at odds with attracting that new audience. The film reeked of excessive intrusion in the film's production and content. The majority of senior management discussions should have remained on the cutting room floor.

Yet, the film contained some precious nuggets of information. Conservation work behind the scenes was fascinating. There were some engaging cameos from guides in front of the public. I was reminded of airport documentaries on TV. The production team singles out their stars. Their cameras capture everyday workers and some unexpected characters going about their jobs. Problems are aired and solved on camera. Even VIPs have walk-on and walk-off parts. Interest is in the work behind the scenes, in the build-up to a VIP's arrival.

The National Gallery seems to offer a fascinating range of events for different audiences. Personally, I would have made the film's best scenes into short videos to view from their website. Just a few examples:

1. The hidden picture behind a Rembrandt
2. Lighting in Samson and Delilah by Rubens
3. A guide explaining a picture to children on his knees

This bite-size approach would have been far more likely to draw in new visitors. In the digital age, video can share a guide's enthusiasm for a seemingly flat picture with a new audience. 

Three hours of boredom can lead to total and permanent switch-off. Three minutes of engagement leaves an appetite to find out more. 

Check back for tomorrow's post.

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.

London's Solidarity with Paris

London's Tower Bridge lit up in red, white and blue

On Sunday 11th January 2015, London showed its solidarity with Paris following a traumatic week there. The history of our two great nations has been closely tied for centuries - both in peace and in times of war. Today, our two capitals are peaceful trading partners within the European Union. A large French population lives and works in London. Many French residents congregated in front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Their numbers were not as high as those who marched in Paris on the same day. They still held up the same French banners for freedom of expression.

"I am Charlie" and "Ink must flow, not blood" banners

A number of other nationalities were also present in solidarity. On the pavement in front of the National Gallery, there were chalk flags from numerous other nations, alongside the French flag and Union Jack. The atmosphere was friendly and many age groups were represented. The Metropolitan Police even assisted in taking photographs.

A great cheer went up just after 4pm. Lights projected the French tricolour onto the front of the National Gallery. The crowd broke into the French national anthem, La Marseillaise. The square's fountains spurted alternately in red, white and blue lighting.

London's famous Tower Bridge was also lit up in solidarity with the French. The colours alternated between red, white and blue from 4pm to 5.30pm. Then the lights went out, leaving the iconic bridge in darkness.

I travelled from Trafalgar Square to Tower Hill to "Little France" in South Kensington. I saw the French flag projected onto the National Gallery. My day ended by seeing an English film about the National Gallery projected at the French Institute's Ciné Lumière. The culture of two nations intertwined.

Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is
an entrepreneurial
French to English
translator, editor,
content writer and
marketing consultant.
She has a keen interest
in the French language
and French culture.



Contact: karen@anglicity.com for further information on Anglicity's services.