Bridging theory and practice, academia and the arts, and education and social outreach, this event brings together students and staff with a shared interest in stories about migration, sustainability, inequality, gender, conflict, cities and global health.

From Where We Stand

For this first screening, co-hosted by the Amsterdam Research Centre for Migration (ARC-M), we will watch From Where We Stand, a documentary by Lucy Kaye.

With a direct and spontaneous approach, filmmaker Lucy Kaye creates intimate portraits of diverse individuals in three post-industrial northern English towns. Through the stories of people connected by place, the film explores our relationship with where we’ve come from, what we’ve left behind and where we live. Amongst the people we meet are Bini, a former asylum seeker from Eritrea trying to root himself in Middlesbrough; Stella, a Polish woman stuck in the UK after a relationship breakdown, making a life for herself and her daughter; and Yan, a former power station worker enveloped in nostalgia for the past.

We also get to know Yubi, a Pakistani immigrant mourning the passing of his father in Wakefield; and Lisa, another Halifax resident determined to make sure the voices of her community are heard. In pared-back verité style that deploys music and lingering shots of the landscapes that define these lives, From Where We Stand offers the people portrayed time and space to express how they feel about their lives and their towns.

(source: https://fromwherewestand.co.uk/)

Northern Exposure research

The film offers a glimpse into the lives of diverse individuals living in post-industrial northern English towns. It is made in collaboration with the Northern Exposure research project at the University of Leeds. The research explores notions of identity, place and disaffection in post-industrial towns in the North of England after Brexit.

Q&A

Filmmaker Lucy Kaye, as well as leading researchers from the Northern Exposure research project, Andrew Wallace and Adrian Favell, will be attending the Social Science Cinema, to introduce the film and for a Q&A afterwards.

Drinks and popcorn will be served!

Organisers