French Talk

It's been 30 years since Matthieu Kassovitz's film La Haine was first played at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1995. In this episode, Daniel and Ludivine talk with Dr Itay Lotem (University of Westminster) and Florence Robles (Runshaw College) about this cult film which is still widely taught at A-Level French. Historian of 20th century France Dr Louisa Zanoun makes an appearance to share her own memories of this period and remarks on the film's limitations. Undoubtedly powerful, La Haine offers a curated, stylised, and ultimately problematic representation of the banlieues. The discussants touch on important themes including police violence, masculinity, social inequality, and anti-semitism, and root the film in its historical context. At the end, they suggest other films and books which complement the picture of this multi-cultural, post-colonial France which Kassovitz depicted in 1995.

In this first episode, Ludivine Broch and Daniel Gordon invite two A-Level French teachers from London and North England to discuss the study of French at school and university. Following a workshop with their students focussing around French immigration across the twentieth century, they talk about the joys and struggles of teaching French, and of the kind of opportunities it can offer students at A-Level and Undergraduate degrees.