Film screening: Antigone, with introduction and aftertalk

The Faculty of Arts of the UG and the International Film Festival Assen present at Forum Groningen: Antigone. This film is a modern adaptation of the Greek tragedy about choosing between your family or the law, and the age-old battle against fear and inhumanity. There will be an aftertalk with Dr. Jacqueline Klooster , Assistant Professor of Classical Languages and Cultures at the University of Groningen. Klooster researches modern retellings of Greek and Roman myths from a female perspective . The screening will be introduced by IFA.

The introduction and aftertalk will be in English, and the film is in French and will be screened with English subtitles.

About the Film

Nahéma Ricci thoroughly impresses as the assertive teenager Antigone, who fled from Algeria to Canada at a young age with her grandmother, sister and two brothers. While she excels at school, her brothers turn to crime. When the youngest is arrested and threatened with deportation, Antigone comes up with an unlikely plan to get him out of jail. She takes on the authorities, driven by her great sense of justice and an unconditional love for and loyalty to her family.

This classic, universal struggle is primarily fought out on social media. The warm solidarity in the viral world, depicted by video-like impressions, contrasts markedly with the system’s cold rules. Antigone is a beacon of hope, starting a movement and inspiring others in her fight against fear, indifference and rules that in so many cases seem inhumane. With this fresh interpretation of the Greek tragedy, director Sophie Deraspe offers a sharp and captivating look at contemporary politics and activism. Antigone received multiple international awards, was Canada's official entry for the Academy Awards and was the opening film for Internationaal Filmfestival Assen (IFA) at the festival’s 40th edition in 2020.

About IFA

International Film Festival Assen (7-10 March 2024) is one of the oldest film festivals in the Netherlands. IFA focuses on the role of women in film, both in the film industry and in contemporary society, by offering perspectives not currently dominant in Western film and society, challenging gender roles, highlighting films that address (intersectional) feminist, emancipatory, and queer themes, and providing a (non-exclusive) platform for (inter)national female filmmakers.

Tickets

The film will be screened at Forum Groningen. Tickets cost €12 and are available through the Forum website.