Presenter(s)

Lila Acott

Comments

10:45-12:00, Kennedy Union Ballroom

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Description

Too often, the mainstream, typical narrative of migration is reduced to images of anonymous swarms of people on overcrowded boats arriving on European shores, posing a risk to sovereign borders and as a looming threat to national security. This presentation examines how Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s film, Une Saison en France (translated “A Season in France”), critiques major narratives about immigration and the faults of immigration systems while simultaneously humanizing the lived experience of immigrants. Haroun challenges such stereotypes by focusing on the case of the Mahadjir family, refugees from the Central African Republic, who seek asylum in France. In many ways, the film highlights the stress and difficulties of immigration regarding housing, security, and legal status. All the while, the audience is immersed into their daily lives, becoming familiar with each character’s wishes, hopes, and dreams. As a result, Haroun humanizes the Mahadjirs and creates space for a connection to be built between the characters and the audience. Ultimately, A Season in France, critically exposes the difficulty of the immigration system for its erasure of migrants often to the most extreme degree, forcing many to disappear.

Publication Date

4-23-2025

Project Designation

Course Project - FRN 381 01

Primary Advisor

Marda Messay

Primary Advisor's Department

Global Languages and Cultures

Keywords

Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

Institutional Learning Goals

Critical Evaluation of Our Times; Diversity; Community

Recentering the Human in Migration: A Season in France

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