WEBVTT

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Hi, my name is Alastair Cole,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I'm a documentary filmmaker 
based here in Scotland.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's a pleasure to be here today
to celebrate

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
International Translation Day 2017,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and to talk to you about Amara as well,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
which is, of course, a wonderful platform
for subtitling and translation.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
As part of my role as a filmmaker,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
subtitling and translation
is such a pivotal part to what I do.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Specially as I make films,
and at the moment,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I'm making a film about languages,
about the subject of language,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
including a recent project,
a feature documentary project

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
called, "The Colours of the Alphabet",

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
which I'm going to talk
a little bit about now,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because subtitling and translation
have been so pivotal and so fundamental

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to how this film is made.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Those in it, those with me on it,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
without them I wouldn't be able
to have made the film.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The film is a feature documentary,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it released last year
at the Glasglow Festival,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and it's been turned around
festivals and cinemas around the UK,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and in Europe and Africa, since then.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's the story of three children
in a village in Zambia,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in a village called Lwimba.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's a story of language and politics
in education, if you want, and childhood.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It follows the children for 12 months
at their first year of school.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And there's a school in the community,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
where the community speaks
one language, called Soli,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the region and the teacher speak
another language, called Nyanja,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and they all must learn English,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because English is the only 
official language of Zambia,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
despite there being
72 different languages,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and only less than 2% of the population
speak English at home.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, of course, it's a film about
this political dynamic,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but at the same time, it's a film
about childhood, and it's funny,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and it'a film that, hopefully,
we can all relate to at times,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and it reminds us of those days
at school and their difficulties,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but of course,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
for someone that is going to school
in a different language completely,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
these difficulties are really highlighted
and exasperated, if you want.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But within the filmmaking process,
subtitling and translation is fundamental.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We used multicolored subtitles in the film

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to represent the changes 
in the different languages

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that are going on in the classroom,
and somewhere like Zambia.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This multilingualism is incredible,
it's very impressive, but of course,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
conveying it to a non-indigenous
African-language-speaking-audience

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is often difficult, 
and it's often not taken as a priority.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But for us it was a priority,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
so we used a creative approach 
to subtitling, if you want, in the film,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that you can see in the teaser
at the end of this video.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Soli, one of the languages, is orange,
has orange subtitling,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Nyanja has green subtitling,
Bemba has pink subtitling,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and English has white subtitling.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And this technique has been able to foster
more conversation, and hopefully,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a greater understanding
about this multilingualism that exists,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
this beautiful multilingualism that exists
and the complexities and the skills,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
which so many people across the continent
embrace this.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And I suppose, 
within the documentary more broadly,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
subtitling and translation 
is so important, and my team --

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and my team for this film
is what I talk about.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
My team of subtitlers 
and translators in Zambia,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Suwilanji Ngambi, Peter Lupiya,
and Brighton Lubasi were so important,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and without them 
I wouldn't be able to make the film.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And also my team in the UK,
Elena Zini and those in Screen Language,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
who helped to bring the film
to international audiences,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and creating 
foreign language versions of the film.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But more generally, 
a documentary film having translation

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and translators that work seriously
to approach it,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to understand the importance
of representing someone,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and that language can be misconstrued,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and a message stands a translation 
is taken seriously is so important.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I think documentary filmmaking
provides a specific case sometimes,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because people and the film
that an audience can see and hear

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
are real people before and after the film,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
so their accurate representation
is so important,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and their understanding of them
as people is so important.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I think translation and subtitling
can do a wonderful job there

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to help audiences around the world

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
experience different languages 
and cultures, but also, at the same time,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
understand people
in the best way possible.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I also want to mention a new project
that we're working on

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
around "The Colours of the Alphabet",

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but the release of 
"The Colours of the Alphabet"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in early next year across Africa,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
where it'll be broadcasted into 
49 different countries with Afridocs.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And as part of the broadcast
we're working with Amara

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to create 25 indigenous language
versions of the film.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's a really exciting project for us

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because, of course, 
we want the film to travel across Africa,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is where the film is made,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is where, hopefully, 
the film speaks to a lot of audiences.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But, at the same time,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it's important that the film
is seen in the languages of the audience,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that is the [end goal] of the film,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but we also want people to be able
to understand it in their terms.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, we're going to be working
in the next months

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with indigenous language
subtitlers and translators

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to create 25 different language versions.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We're going to be offering them 
the opportunity to train and work with us,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and at the end of the day,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
for people to be able 
to subtitle and translate this film,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and hopefully, foster what can be
one of the first

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Africa-wide-film-translation-network.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, keep an eye on that,
keep an eye on the website below,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
http://coloursofthealphabet.com/

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but also on our Facebook page,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and you'll see more announcement
about this exciting project.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And before we go, you can watch a teaser
at the end this film

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and finally, a big, happy
International Translation Day!

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and our message of thumbs up

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to all the subtitlers and translators
working out there.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Thanks!

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
[music in the background]

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999

[music in the background]