The director who is most renown for creating The Lord of the Rings trilogy screen adaptation visited Oxford University to talk about his new documentary film They Shall Not Grow Old. He created this film using the original footage and voice recordings of World War I. Peter Jackson told the audience that the initial plan was to make 30 min film, however, there were so many stories to be told that it turned into a 1h 39min documentary.
Peter Jackson in discussion with Professor Ngaire Woods, Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government
The filmmaker decided to film it in colour as this was how the soldiers saw the world – they did not see it in black-and-white, and adding colour to the documentary helped to create direct empathy with the participants of war. Much of the original footage has never been seen by the public before as for many years it was saved in the vaults of London's Imperial War Museum. The beginning and the end of the film is in black-and-white – however, this was done not for some artistic reasons, but simply to fit within the budget.
Peter Jackson at the Blavatnik School of Government
The director discovered a lot of surprising things during the research for the film; for example, he found out that the British turned a blind eye on the age of the recruits, and there were a lot of boys as young as 14 joining the army. The documentary team were able to zoom in on the restored footage, and it was horrible how many very young faces they have discovered.
Short Stories Aloud: Elise Valmorbida and Jacqueline O'Mahony
This is one of my favourite regular literary events in Oxford! We gather downstairs at Blackwells and listen to actors perform short stories by two authors. After a short break, the authors answer the questions from the audience scribbled on paper notes. The event is hosted by an author Sarah Franklin.
This time we listened to writers Elise Valmorbida talking about her latest book The Madonna of the Mountains and Jacqueline O'Mahony talking about her book A River in the Trees.
Elise ValmorbidaElise Valmorbida talks about her book The Madonna of the Mountains - a family saga set in northern Italy during the times when fascism was on the rise.
Elise Valmorbida sitting among the audience while listening to her story being read out aloud
Shame on me cause I did not find out the actors' names... maybe next time!
February 2, 2019. Philosophy in the Bookshop - Nigel Warburton and Johann Hari
Philosophy in the Bookshop is one of the regular events at Blackwell's bookshop (Oxford).
This time we listened to philosopher Nigel Warburton talking with writer and journalist Johann Hari. The author told us about his book exploring the mental health issues, 'Lost Connections'.
The event attracted many more people than there were seats, even people who were in the bookshop looking for books were stopping to listen!
My favourite quote of the event:
'It's not the work that makes us depressed - it's being controlled at work'.
So simple and yet so true.
Philosophy in the Bookshop - Nigel Warburton and Johann HariFor more photos check out my blog entry - Literary Oxford!
By the way I love the expression of the guy on the top left.
I've decided to start writing a blog about literary events in Oxford. Not feeling very wordy (and consumed by guilt when I'm writing anything that's not my book), thus expect more photos than text.
February 1, 2019. Feminist Salon: Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors at St Hilda's College, University of Oxford
It was such an enlightening evening! I'm trying to go to almost every literary event since I moved to Oxford, and sadly there are very few interviews with female sci-fi and fantasy authors.
Feminist SalonFeminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors at St Hilda's College, University of Oxford
Chair of the discussion Chelsea Haith and science fiction author Stephanie Saulter
