The Commons announces Global Revolution film series

LAWRENCE — A new film series at the University of Kansas will explore the theme of revolution around the globe. The first event will take place at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at The Forum in Marvin Hall, featuring the 2013 film “The Square.”

The film series aims to answer questions around historical efforts to create change and what motivates individuals to come together to launch revolutions. It is co-sponsored by The Commons, International Affairs, International Support Services, the Global Awareness Program, the Center for Global & International Studies, the Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies and the School of Architecture & Design.

Series curator Alireza Mirzaeinezhad, graduate student in visual art, initially suggested the idea for the series last spring after the formation of the women, life, freedom movement in Iran.

“My understanding of these events was largely shaped by the videos I discovered on the internet,” Mirzaeinezhad said. “This led me to envision a series that could serve as a valuable platform for exploring the concept of revolution through the relationship between moving images and protests — specifically as they document, report and archive these transformative moments.”

Charles Bankart, KU’s senior internationalization officer, said that it is essential to construct opportunities to come together in dialogue as a global community.

“Convening around the theme of change through revolution and exploring what revolution is, what its catalysts are and how such social movements can be viewed through different cultural and historical lenses represents a unique and powerful opportunity to acknowledge our global presence, responsibility and connections,” he said.

Film screenings will be followed by discussions led by researchers at KU whose expertise and study are relevant to the regions and topics of the events, as well as students who have relationships with the countries and regions featured.

The first event, which focuses on Egypt and the Arab Spring, will feature Marie Grace Brown, associate professor of history, whose research on the modern Middle East centers questions of intimacy, gender, empire and the body as historical text, and Ahmad Mustafa, doctoral student in political science, who studies international relations, Islamic studies, Islamic law and religiopolitical discourse in the Middle East.

The Global Revolution film series is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available.

A second event, in conjunction with Latin American Heritage Month, will take place Oct. 11 and feature a screening of “Las Sandinistas,” followed by a discussion led by Hispano Durón, Langston Hughes Visiting Professor of Film & Media Studies.