Durham County Pupils were invited to a screening of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2007) at the Gala Theatre on 9 November, followed by an afternoon of activities at Durham University’s School of Modern Languages and Cultures. The day was organised by Dr Alexandre Burin and Dr Dominique Carlini Versini, in collaboration with MLAC Outreach (Seb Hawker and volunteers Marie Greindl, Noe Amiel, Apolline Stevenin and Lydia Challand) as well as Brian Stobie of Durham County Council.
The film is an adaptation of Satrapi’s popular graphic novel of the same name and tells the story of her childhood in Iran during the Revolution, followed by her move to Europe. The afternoon activities included questions on the film and on the graphic novel, creative writing in French and in English, and finally a big quiz on French culture. Pupils provided insightful analyses of the graphic design of the book in comparison to some of the aesthetic choices made in the film. Some of the question addressed Iranian history, which pupils discovered in the film. They were also asked to rewrite some of the scenes of the book provided during the session. The pupils were very responsive and shown their keen interest in learning new languages, particularly in an environment where they could engage with francophone speakers and culture more broadly.
Feedback on the day was extremely positive from teachers and pupils alike. The School is hoping to make this a recurring event, in collaboration with the Durham County Council, as part of our strategy to encourage and support language learning at secondary school level in the North East and to diversify its student recruitment.
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