Seetha Tan has co-directed a film on the historical legacy of Black presence in Cambridge which debuts at the Cambridge Festival in late March
Once released this film will become a valuable academic resource for the students and will serve as a usable educational tool to acknowledge the diversity that exists in the city, which can spark deeper considerations and debate.
Kenny Monrose
A Gates Cambridge Scholar is co-directing a documentary film on the historical legacy of Black presence in Cambridge which will premiere at the Cambridge Festival at the end of the month.
Seetha Tan [2022], who is doing a PhD in Sociology, is co-directing the Black Town & Gown film, which will be shown on 28th March at Lady Mitchell Hall.
The film is funded by CRAASH and builds on the success of the CRASSH-funded ‘The Post-Windrush generation: Black British Voices of Resistance’ conference of May 2022.
It examines both what it means to be a Black scholar at Cambridge and the lived reality of being a Black resident in the city.
Via personal engagement with both black scholars and prominent Black residents in Cambridge, the film highlights the impact of the established notions of ‘Town and Gown’ on community cohesion, as well as noting the many cultural, political and artistic contributions that Black people have made to the city.
The premiere will begin with an introduction from the film’s creators.
Seetha, who co-directs with Kenny Monrose, the lead researcher for the Black British Voices Project, has produced audio-visual podcasts for Cambridge Sociology and feminist, anti-racist healthcare international non-profit Medical Herstory. Her short films have won awards for screenwriting, directing and cinematography at local film festivals across Australia, including the Willoughby Film Festival and MLTA Film Festival. She also has experience directing and filming live music events and conferences such as TEDx Sciences PoMenton in France. Her recent role as Communications and Project Assistant at St Ethelburga’s Centre for Peace and Reconciliation has further developed her skills in communication strategy, videography, website design and audio-visual production.
Monrose says: “Producing the film itself and conducting interviews across the Town and Gown divide has really emphasised the importance of collaborative knowledge-making and community-oriented work. As sociologist-filmmakers, we hope this film can also shed light on different ways of working together. Once released this will become a valuable academic resource for the students and will serve as a usable educational tool to acknowledge the diversity that exists in the city, which can spark deeper considerations and debate.”
Other Gates Cambridge-related events at the Festival include Leor Zmigrod [2016] on her new book, The Ideological Brain, on 1st April, Carol Ibe [2015] who leads the Roots of Resilience: A Decade of Empowering African Ag-Scientists for Food Security and Sustainability event on 27th March, and the Gates Cambridge panel event Ideas that could change the world on 21st March. Reetika Subramanian [2019], creator of the Climate Brides Podcast, will also be speaking on a panel about reproductive justice in a changing climate on 20th March. She will also be launching a new ebook on reproduction in a changing world and Climate Brides is participating in an exhibition on climate and reproduction at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, with a focus on (un)tying the knots between climate change and early marriage. Kim van Daalen [2018] will also take part in the exhibition in relation to her work on sexual and reproductive health in a changing climate.
*The film runs from 18:00 – 19:30. More information here.
