GRAMNet Film Series

In observance of English Language Day.

Broken World, Broken Word
Documentary, Ghana/Scotland (2016) | Director: Gameli Tordzro | 60 mins | Shona, Ndau, Dutch, Italian, French, German, Twi, Ga, Dangbe, Ewe, Akan, Bukina, Danish with English Subtitles

This documentary film a multilingual production filmed on location in Ghana charts the work of the AHRC Researching Multilingually at Borders project which has worked for 3 years to consider what it means to conduct research in multiple field sites using multiple languages and also incorporating elements of the creative and performing arts.

All the field sites were considering different aspects of researching multilingually where the body, language, law and the state are under conditions of duress, pain or pressure. The political crises and violence affecting refugees, most notably though not exclusively in Europe, came to the fore during the project and has provided a significant contextual impetus for the creative and translation process which led to the work devised by the young people of Noyam.

The work has been undertaken through ongoing, generative relationships between artists, linguists and researchers and the epic story of exile, war, persecution, resistance and safety has been told through many different academic and artistic media. The generative themes which this collaboration and these working relationships produced were then worked with using devising and improvisation methods, multilingually, with young dancers from Noyam who translated the themes of the research into cultural and multilingual forms of dance under the guidance of the directors and dramaturg, musicians, and costume designers.