Events and news 

Dr Francisco Domínguez

Three scholars present their research at the HRC during the Autumn Term 2011 Hugo Chávez: despot or liberator? The first seminar of the 2011-2012 academic year focused on the study of the current social, economic and political situation in Venezuela. Dr Francisco Dominguez is the Head of the Centre for Brazilian and Latin American Studies at Middlesex University and a specialist in Latin American Economic Policy. In his seminar on the 15th November 2011, he focused on the profound socio-political and economic changes that have occurred in Venezuela since the arrival of Hugo Chavez. In addition to points made about the changes that have taken place in the most important petrol-producing country in Latin America, the paper also coveredthe representation of Venezuela in the media. Dr Dominguez is one of the organzers of the 'Latin America 2011' conference.

James Joyce "visits" the Hispanic Research Centre Dr John Beattie is an English and Translation Professor in the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting at the Universidad Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.     Through his interesting talk at the Hispanic Research Centre on 4th December 2011, he compared translation of Joyce into Castilian, Galician and Catalan.

Modern Languages (Spanish) students take part in a Skype call with students from Spain and Chile

First-year Modern Languages students have taken part in a Skype exchange with Universidad de Cádiz (Spain) and Universidad de San Sebastián (Chile). The session was arranged as part of one of the first year compulsory modules, taught by Sabela Melchor, in an attempt to bring into the classroom real opportunities to interact with native Spanish speakers. The students spoke to one another via Skype for half an hour in each language (Spanish and English) and helped each improve their language skills. The activity was very well received by both groups of students and we aim to do it again in the future.

Raquel Sánchez Ruiz

HRC hosts a researcher from the Faculty of Education in Albacete, UCLM, Spain (2011) Raquel Sánchez Ruiz, a teaching assistant and PhD student in the Faculty of Education at the Universidad Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, spent one month at the Hispanic Research Centre. During her stay she worked on two different areas: a) a comparison of British and Spanish teaching methods at different levels in Education–Primary and HE, mainly; b) a compilation of material related to her thesis on the topic of political writing during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Two researchers from the Universitat Jaume I (Castellón, Spain) spend three months at the HRC (2011)  Dr María Soler Campillo and Dr Pablo Ferrando García spent a period of three months each between the months of May and August 2011 at the Hispanic Research Centre. They have summarised their stay as follows: ‘Thanks to my research stay at the HRC I have been able to make progress with my research on the promotion of 3D imagery. After studying earlier developments in 3D technology, I focused on the commercial aspects of Cinema and TV 3D, a study of the opportunities, problems and dangers faced by the entertainment industry. My stay at Roehampton and my visit to the BFI enabled me to consult material on the development of these sections of the industry’ (Dr María Soler, October 2011). ‘My stay at the HRC between May and August 2011 allowed me to gather a great deal of documentation on the cinema and TV work of Michael Haneke. This was essential research for a book-length study I am preparing for a Spanish publisher, exploring the notion that Haneke’s films are predicated on the basis of the active involvement of the spectator in developing images from a fragmented and provisional narrative pattern. This research stay also allowed me to reflect on the status of the image as an integral element of the ‘society ‘of the spectacle—as Guy Debord puts it. Thanks to these months of research while based at the HRC, I was able to confirm his hypothesis and advance very significantly in my research’ (Dr Pablo Ferrando, October 2011).

Mª Verónica de Haro at Roehampton University

Researcher from University of Murcia spends six months at the Hispanic Research Centre (2011) The HRC welcomed Mª Verónica de Haro de San Mateo from the University of Murcia for a period of three months. During her visit, she studied La Divisa, a journal published in English on bullfighting. A member of the Asociación Española de Investigadores en Comunicación and the Asociación de Historiadores de la Comunicación, she was involved in research and teaching activities in the Department of Media, Culture and Language at Roehampton, and worked especially with Professor Garry Marvin, with whom she embarked on a study of the cultural meaning of bullfighting. The results of this research were the subject of a seminar at the Hispanic Research Centre on 15th March 2011.

Juan Manuel de Faramiñán

Professor Juan Manuel de Faramiñán Gilbert (Universidad de Jaén, Spain) carries out research at HRC during three months (2011) For three months (15th April-15th July 2011), Professor Juan Manuel de Faramiñán Gilbert (alias John Gilbert) was a Visiting Scholar, invited by Prof. Isabel Santaolalla to carry out research at the University of Roehampton. Professor Faramiñán Gilbert is Chair of International Public Law and International Relations in Jaén University (Spain); he holds the Jean Monnet Chair of Law and Institutional Structure of the European Union, where he is the Director of the ‘Observatorio de la Globalización’. During his stay at the Hispanic Research Centre, he worked on his new book The New Trends of International Law, and participated in the various activities of the Hispanic Research Centre. He also worked on the concept of the ‘Big Society’, contrasting it with the classic model of the Nation-States, in the context of changes in civil societies in Europe and elsewhere in the world. On his return to Spain, taking advantage of the different contacts made in Britain, he organized a workshop on the ‘Environmental Protection on the International Spaces (Sea, Outer Space and Antarctica)’, a good example of the synergy established between the University of Roehampton and the Universidad de Jaén.

Members of the HRC and the CRFAC collaborate with the Institute of Psychoanalysis in the organisation of the 6th European Psychoanalytic Film Festival

Isabel Santaolalla (HRC) and Caroline Bainbridge, from the University of Roehampton’s Department of Media, Culture and Language, have been involved over the past two years in the organisation of the 6th edition of the biannual epff, held at BAFTA, London, 3-6 November 2011. The Festival's programme, focusing on this occasion on the topic of ‘Border Crossing: Migration Across National and Mental States’, included the screening of some remarkable European films followed by conversations about them among their directors, psychoanalysts and the audience. In addition to their work as members of the organising committee, Caroline and Isabel delivered talks and chaired round panel discussions that brought together scholars, filmmakers and psychoanalysts from all over the world. The festival was attended by over 350 delegates and provided a unique opportunity for encouraging serious reflections on the medium of cinema. There was also a competition for young filmmakers, and a social programme. Watch excerpts of discussions and exclusive interviews with delegates, filmmakers, film historians and eminent psychoanalysts in this ten-minute video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eI3kclKyyI&context=C31a2cdcADOEgsToPDskJEKrWM15f0truE0ZJMVqlj

Isabel Santaolalla, Mary Bradbury, Anastasia Christo and Kannan Navaratnem at the Festival's Opening Panel

The HRC continues its involvement in the London Spanish Film Festival (2011)

The 7th edition of the London Spanish Film Festival took place from the 23rd of September to the 6th of October at Ciné Lumière (17 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2DT), with the continued support of the Hispanic Research Centre. This year’s guest of honour was Geraldine Chaplin, and other guests included actors Eduardo Noriega, Nora Navas, Emilia Fox, Greta Sccachi, and directors Enrique Gabriel, Jonás Trueba and Paco Cabezas,among others.

It's a free world

HRC hosts a researcher from Universitat Jaume I of Castellón In the Spring Semester 2010/2011, the HRC hosts a visiting scholar from the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) of Castellón, Spain, under the supervision of Professor Isabel Santaolalla. Irene de Higes is a PhD student on a research scholarship from the Valencia Regional Government. During her stay at Roehampton University, she will be working on her doctoral thesis on the translation into Spanish of British migration films such as Beautiful People (Jasmin Dizdar), It’s a Free World (Ken Loach) and Bend It like Beckham (Gurinder Chadha). Irene wants to describe how immigrant characters are represented through speech and especially what are the challenges faced by audiovisual translators when dubbing and subtitling the multilingual characterizations in these films.

Iván Villarmea	Researcher from Universidad de Zaragoza at the Hispanic Research Centre The Hispanic Research Centre hosts another Spanish researcher during the autumn of 2010. Iván Villarmea Alvarez is a PhD student from Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain, where he is writing a PhD thesis on subjective documentaries and their representation of the post-industrial city. He has worked under the supervision of Professor Isabel Santaolalla and Professor Michael Chanan from September 2010 to February 2011. His research is currently focusing on personal portraits of hometowns, such as Of Time and the City, an autobiographical documentary about post-war Liverpool made by British filmmaker Terence Davies. During his stay, Iván gave two lectures about his research: Film Cityscapes and Subjective Documentaries (12 January 2011) and Collective History and Personal Accounts in Spanish-Speaking Documentaries (25 January 2011).

HRC Member on BBC's See Hear  Senior lecturer in Audiovisual Translation at Roehampton University and HRC member, Pablo Romero-Fresco contributes to the BBC’s See Hear on 3 February at 1pm. Pablo disseminates the results of his latest research project on the use of eye-tracking technology in audiovisual media conducted at Roehampton, making viewers aware of what’s involved in live subtitling.The weekly magazine programme about the British and the worldwide deaf community covers a broad range of topics from areas such as education, deaf people's rights, technology and language. Pablo has just finished the first book ever published on live subtitling for deaf and hard of hearing audiences. He has also coordinated the € 3-million project Digital TV for All which he presented at the European Parliament in Brussels recently. Funded by the European Commission, the project promotes and enhances the provision of access services across Europe and involves national broadcasters, media companies and 12 universities across Europe. This is the first time that a project of this type resorts to eye-tracking technology, and the first time it is presented to the EU MEPs, who have agreed to increase the provision of access services across Europe. The MEPs highlighted the need to disseminate the results of the project through publications and news releases.

Roehampton University at the 6th London Spanish Film Festival (2010) For the sixth consecutive year, Roehampton University is involved in the organisation of the London Spanish Film Festival taking place between 24 of September and 7 of October at the Ciné Lumière (17 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2DT). HRC's Isabel Santaolalla and Pablo Romero Fresco contributed to the Festival’s events. With over 20 films from Spain, and special emphasis on Catalan and Basque cinema, the latest edition of the festival continued to attract followers of Spanish cinema who enjoyed not only the films, many of them UK premiered, but also the opportunity to see and hear acclaimed artists such as actress Maribel Verdú and director Carlos Saura.

Pablo Romero - acting as an interpreter - with director Carlos Saura, costume designer Marina Roberti and moderator María Delgado (far left)

Jury membership at the Kenya International Film Festival

Professor Isabel Santaolalla invited as a member of the international jury for the KIFF' fifth edition held in the Kenyan capital Nairobi from 21 to 30 October 2010.
This year's festival has a very special relationship with Spain, as the Spanish Embassy in Kenya has funded Cinema Spain, a mini-season of six of the best Spanish films of the last fifty years, curated and presented by Isabel Santaolalla. During the Festival, Isabel Santaolalla and Professor Lindiwe Dovey (SOAS, London) visited the Hotsun Foundation Film School and the Kibera Girls’ Soccer Academy, carrying out work related to Prof Dovey’s research on Film Festival reception and exploring the possibility of future links and projects with Roehampton.

Accessibility project presented at the European Parliament Pablo Romero presents DTV4all findings Pablo Romero Fresco is part of the team presenting the accessibility project DTV4all before the European Parliament on 28 October 2010. DTV4all is a European Commission-funded project with the objective to facilitate the provision of access services (subtitling, live subtitling, audio description and signing) across Europe in anticipation of the digital switch over in 2012. With several major partners across Europe (from public TV channels to universities) the project's recommendations will hopefully become European standards ultimately allowing a growing number of individuals with hearing and sight impairment to access television contents fully.

Pablo Romero presents DTV4all findings

Spanish American Independence Symposium at Emory University Professor Isabel Santaolalla is invited to participate in a one-day symposium of international researchers at Emory University (Atlanta, USA) on 19 November 2010 to commemorate the Bicentennials of Spanish American Independence. The symposium interventions can be downloaded free from iTunes from this link: https://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/BrowsePrivately/emory-public.5478420702.05478420713

Three Researchers from Universitat Jaume I of Castellón carry out their work at the Hispanic Research Centre

During the summer of 2010 the Hispanic Research Centre hosted three visiting scholars from the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) of Castellón, Spain, under the supervision of Professor Isabel Santaolalla.
Dr Marta Martín-Núñez completed her PhD on remediation and digital media and is currently an assitant lecturer in the Communication Sciences Department at UJI. She will be carrying out a research project on Web 2.0 and its relationship with traditional media during her stay at Roehampton.
Iván Bort-Gual is a PhD student on a research scholarship from the Valencian Regional Government and he is using his time at Roehampton to complete his doctoral thesis on American TV Drama Series.
Shaila García-Catalá has just started her PhD on neurological science and audiovisual discourse, and is researching bibliographical and filmographic resources on the subject of her thesis.

HRC Co-director presents Cuban-American documentary at the LSE Dr. Elvira Anton-Carrillo, Senior Lecturer at Roehampton University and co-director of the Hispanic Research Centre, and Vladimir Smith, founder and curator of the Festival of the Moving Image at UCL and the British-Cuban Heritage Foundation for the Arts introduce the controversial documentary East of Havana, by the Cuban-American film makers Jauretsi Saizarbitoria and Emilia Menocal (82", 2006, in Spanish with English subtitles) at the LSE as part of the Spanish in Motion project. Produced by the actress Charlize Theron, East of Havana is a close-up on the lives of three young rappers compelled to address their generation's future from the confines of a Cuban ghetto. Soandry, Magyori, and Mikki are the de facto leaders of Cuba's rebellious underground hip hop movement. Possessing the undeniable talent and charisma of pop icons, these fearless performers push self-expression to its sharpest, riskiest, and most triumphant point.

EU-funded intern: Federico Olivieri, journalist and African cinema specialist Federico Olivieri interviewing award-winning Malian-Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako at the 6th FCAT. The work of Federico Olivieri, one of the EU-Leonardo grant-holders currently working at the HRC, focuses on the representation of Africa in Spain and on the value of African cinema as an instrument of international development. After graduating in Journalism from the Universidad de Sevilla, Federico completed an MA in Global Media and Post-National Communication at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and then was awarded an internship at Roehampton University. As well as contributing to modules on social communication, media and representation, Federico will present his most recent research project on the image of Africa at Tarifa’s film festival (please click on Research Seminars for more information on this event). Federico is also coordinating the first African cinema-related virtual magazine in Spanish: ÁFRICAesCINE (supported by the FCAT or African Film Festival of Tarifa). He explains that “being an assistant at the Hispanic Research Centre of Roehampton University is a great opportunity for me. Not only am I able to combine my passion for journalism, academic research and cinema here, but also to learn through my daily contact with an extremely varied and international community of academics and students at Roehampton”.

Events and News Archive