Film Screening of "From Where We Stand" and discussion with Lucy Kaye and Adrian Favell

Lucy Kaye's one hour documentary and deep dive into the life and times of residents of three post industrial towns in the North of England is at once moving, visually haunting, and (in parts) disturbingly raw. It is part of a 4 year project run at the University of Leeds which took a sociological look at political disaffection -- and issues of austerity, deprivation, race and nation -- in the North of England after Brexit and during COVID.

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.

Background:

From Where We Stand is made in collaboration with the Northern Exposure research project at the University of Leeds. Adrian Favell, Professor at the University College Cork, is Co-PI of the Northern Exposure Project. The research explores notions of identity, place and disaffection in post-industrial towns in the North of England after Brexit. More information can be found here: https://northernexposure.leeds.ac.uk/.

https://fromwherewestand.co.uk/

Host
Institute for European Studies

Cosponsors
Sociology
Migrations