Catalan language students from 14 UK and Ireland universities to discuss 'Pa Negre'

Catalan language students from 14 universities across the United Kingdom and Ireland will participate in a discussion on 'Pa Negre' (Black Bread), a highly-acclaimed film set in post-Spanish Civil War rural Catalonia.

Taking place online on November 15 at 6 pm CET, it will also be attended by actors Francesc Colomer and Marina Comas as well as producer Isona Passola, who is a former president of the Catalan Film Academy.

The students, who will have been able to stream the film in Catalan with subtitles in English from Friday to Sunday thanks to the Institut Ramon Llull, will be able to ask them questions.

The event, which will be moderated by Joan Mas, of the University of Liverpool, as well as Pol Masdeu from the University of Sheffield, will be mainly in English in order to encourage students who have only just started learning Catalan. 

This is not the first time they get together online to discuss Catalan films – in fact, the initiative, which began at the height of the pandemic, has been a hit among students, with over 100 participating in the last two events on 'Incerta Glòria' and 'La mort de Guillem'.

"These activities demonstrate that our language and culture are of interest to young people," say Masdeu and Mas to Catalan News. "Most Catalan language students in these countries are 18 to 25 years old."

Catalan language learners from the University of Bristol, University College Cork, University of Glasgow, Maynooth University, Cardiff University, University of Oxford, University of Edinburgh, Queen Mary University of London, Newcastle University, University of Birmingham, Durham University, University of Sheffield and the University of Liverpool will be taking part in the discussion.