Alastair Cole - International Translation Day 2017 (Colours of the Alphabet Film)
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0:01 - 0:02Hi, my name is Alastair Cole,
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0:02 - 0:06I'm a documentary filmmaker
based here in Scotland. -
0:06 - 0:09It's a pleasure to be here today
to celebrate -
0:09 - 0:11International Translation Day 2017,
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0:11 - 0:13and to talk here on Amara's blog
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0:13 - 0:16which is, of course, a wonderful platform
for subtitling and translation. -
0:16 - 0:18As part of my role as a filmmaker,
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0:18 - 0:22subtitling and translation
is such a pivotal part to what I do. -
0:22 - 0:24Specially as I make films,
and at the moment, -
0:24 - 0:27I'm making a film about languages,
about the subject of language, -
0:27 - 0:30including a recent project,
a feature documentary project -
0:30 - 0:32called, "The Colours of the Alphabet",
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0:32 - 0:34which I'm going to talk
a little bit about now, -
0:34 - 0:37because subtitling and translation
have been so pivotal and so fundamental -
0:37 - 0:40to how this film is made.
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0:40 - 0:43Those in it, those with me on it,
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0:43 - 0:46without them I wouldn't be able
to have made the film. -
0:46 - 0:49The film is a feature documentary,
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0:49 - 0:51it released last year
at the Glasglow Film Festival, -
0:51 - 0:54and it's been turned around
festivals and cinemas around the UK, -
0:54 - 0:56and in Europe and Africa, since then.
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0:56 - 1:00It's the story of three children
in a village in Zambia, -
1:00 - 1:01in a village called Lwimba.
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1:01 - 1:06It's a story of language and politics
in education, if you want, and childhood. -
1:06 - 1:10It follows the children for 12 months
at their first year of school. -
1:10 - 1:11And there's a school in the community,
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1:11 - 1:14where the community speaks
one language, called Soli, -
1:14 - 1:17the region and the teacher speak
another language, called Nyanja, -
1:17 - 1:18and they all must learn English,
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1:18 - 1:21because English is the only
official language of Zambia, -
1:21 - 1:24despite there being
72 different languages, -
1:24 - 1:28and only less than 2% of the population
speak English at home. -
1:28 - 1:31So, of course, it's a film about
this political dynamic, -
1:31 - 1:34but at the same time, it's a film
about childhood, and it's funny, -
1:34 - 1:38and it'a film that, hopefully,
we can all relate to at times, -
1:38 - 1:40remembering those first days
at school and their difficulty -
1:40 - 1:41but of course,
-
1:41 - 1:45for someone that is going to school
in a different language completely, -
1:45 - 1:50these difficulties are really highlighted
and exasperated, if you want. -
1:51 - 1:55But within the filmmaking process,
subtitling and translation is fundamental. -
1:55 - 1:57We used multicolored subtitles in the film
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1:57 - 2:00to represent the changes
in the different languages -
2:00 - 2:03that are going on in the classroom,
and in somewhere like Zambia. -
2:03 - 2:06This multilingualism is incredible,
it's very impressive, but of course, -
2:06 - 2:12conveying it to a non-indigenous
African-language-speaking-audience -
2:12 - 2:15is often difficult, and it's often
not taken as a priority. -
2:15 - 2:16But for us it was a priority,
-
2:16 - 2:20so we used a creative approach
to subtitling, if you want, in the film, -
2:20 - 2:23that you can see in the teaser
at the end of this video. -
2:24 - 2:26Soli, one of the languages, is orange,
has orange subtitling, -
2:26 - 2:29Nyanja has green subtitling,
Bemba has pink subtitling, -
2:29 - 2:32and English has white subtitling.
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2:32 - 2:36And this technique has been able to foster
more conversation, and hopefully, -
2:36 - 2:39a greater understanding
about this multilingualism that exists, -
2:39 - 2:43this beautiful multilingualism that exists
and the complexities and the skills -
2:43 - 2:48which so many people
across the continent embrace this. -
2:48 - 2:51And I suppose,
within the documentary more broadly, -
2:51 - 2:53subtitling and translation
is so important, and my team -- -
2:53 - 2:56and is my team for this film
that I talk about. -
2:56 - 2:59My team of subtitlers
and translators in Zambia, -
2:59 - 3:04Suwilanji Ngambi, Peter Lupiya,
and Brighton Lubasi were so important, -
3:04 - 3:06and without them
I wouldn't be able to make the film. -
3:06 - 3:11And also my team in the UK,
Elena Zini and those in Screen Language, -
3:11 - 3:14who helped to bring the film
to international audiences, -
3:14 - 3:17and creating
foreign language versions of the film. -
3:17 - 3:21But more generally,
a documentary film having translation -
3:21 - 3:24and translators that work seriously
on a project, -
3:24 - 3:26to understand the importance
of representing someone, -
3:26 - 3:30that language can be misconstrued
and misunderstood in translation -
3:30 - 3:32isn't taken seriously, is so important.
-
3:33 - 3:35I think documentary filmmaking
provides a specific case, sometimes, -
3:35 - 3:40because people and the film
that an audience can see and hear -
3:40 - 3:42are real people before and after the film,
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3:42 - 3:46and so, their accurate representation
is so important, -
3:46 - 3:49and their understanding of them
as people is so important. -
3:49 - 3:53I think translation and subtitling
can do a wonderful job there -
3:53 - 3:55to help audiences around the world
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3:55 - 3:58experience different culture
and languages, but also, at the same time, -
3:58 - 4:02understand people
in the best way possible. -
4:03 - 4:06I suppose I also want to mention
a new project that we're working on -
4:06 - 4:07around "The Colours of the Alphabet",
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4:07 - 4:09but the release of
"The Colours of the Alphabet" -
4:09 - 4:12in early next year across Africa,
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4:12 - 4:16where it'll be broadcasted into
49 different countries with Afridocs. -
4:16 - 4:19And as part of the broadcast
we're working with Amara -
4:19 - 4:22to create 25 indigenous language versions
of the film. -
4:22 - 4:24It's a really exciting project for us
-
4:24 - 4:27because, of course, we want the film
to travel across Africa, -
4:27 - 4:29is where the film is made,
-
4:29 - 4:32is where, hopefully,
the film speaks to a lot of audiences. -
4:32 - 4:33But, at the same time,
-
4:33 - 4:37it's important that the film is seen
in the languages of the audience, -
4:37 - 4:39that is the end goal of the film,
-
4:39 - 4:42but we also want people to be able
to understand it in their terms. -
4:42 - 4:45So, we're going to be working
in the next months -
4:45 - 4:49with indigenous language
subtitlers and translators -
4:49 - 4:51to create 25 different language versions.
-
4:51 - 4:55We're going to be offering them
the opportunity to train and work with us, -
4:55 - 4:57and at the end of the day,
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4:57 - 4:59for people to be able
to subtitle and translate this film, -
4:59 - 5:04and hopefully, foster what can be
one of the first -
5:04 - 5:07Africa-wide-film-translation-network.
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5:07 - 5:10So, keep an eye on that,
keep an eye on the website below, -
5:10 - 5:12coloursofthealphabet.com
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5:12 - 5:14but also on our Facebook page,
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5:14 - 5:17and you'll see more announcement
about this exciting project. -
5:17 - 5:19And before we go, you can watch
a teaser at the end this film -
5:19 - 5:23and finally, another big, happy
International Translation Day! -
5:23 - 5:24And a message of thumbs up
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5:24 - 5:27to all the ones who are subtitlers
and translators working out there. -
5:27 - 5:29Thanks!
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5:29 - 5:30[music]
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6:22 - 6:26[music]
- Title:
- Alastair Cole - International Translation Day 2017 (Colours of the Alphabet Film)
- Description:
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Colours of the Alphabet Film Website: http://coloursofthealphabet.com
Film Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColoursOfTheAlphabetFilm/
Film Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlphabetFilm - Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- International Translation Day
- Duration:
- 06:48