The SEED (Surrey Embracing Ethnic Diversity) network held its first movie night at the MySurrey Hive in November. Hosted and organised by SEED member, Namy Yu the event was well attended and is hoped to be the first of many from the SEED network for staff & students.
The film selected was Lilting, directed by Cambodian-born British director Hong Khaou, selected by Dr Neelam Wright to celebrate ethnic, gender & cultural diversity.
Namy and the SEED network chose the screening date of the 16th November to reflect on the International Day for Tolerance (https://www.un.org/en/observances/tolerance-day) , supporting the message of diversity and identity. Everyone in the University of Surrey community was invited to take part and exchange their perspectives on the film and the meaning of tolerance.
SEED members who came to the screening share their thoughts on the film:
Dr Sumeetra Ramakrishnan, Hospitality, Tour & Events
“I had a great experience with the movie night. The movie was very apt, thoughtfully chosen. It was great to get some insight from Neelam at the start. It was particularly poignant to be together in a social space with friends from the SEED network and university community. I hope this is the start of more such social gatherings for our community.”
Isaiah Ting, Ph.D. student in Chronobiology
“The movie night at MySurrey Hive was more comfortable than I thought it would be, I really liked the space we had and the popcorn! As for the movie, it was a very moving movie that I had to watch a couple of times more after watching it for the first time. The intersectionality showcased in the movie, where gender and ethnic diversity collide, really is a rich topic that should be talked about more, in my opinion. All in all, a very deep cutting movie that deserves more attention! Thank you for organising this!”
Cristiane Darke, Finance
“I am not good at writing reviews, but I would like to say that I enjoyed the event and would come back for more.
The film Lilting made me think a lot about relationships and our need to be accepted in society, family and among friends. The film had two different parts for me. Part one was the son and the mother relationship, and how her expectations stopped him to tell her about his relationship. The second part was about the son’s partner trying to show the mother how much he loved her son and how important it was for him that she accepted him in her life. “
Namy Yu, International Student Support Adviser
“I’d like to say thank you to everyone supporting the event: Of course, to start with, SEED Network listening and sharing ideas, LGBTQ+ Network showing enthusiasm to support collaboration, IT and MySurrey Hive team helping me to organise the venue, Mentors assisting and operating the event night smoothly with delicious popcorn! The event made me to think and cherish the evening with smile. The evening matches the great purpose of UNESCO’s 1995 Declaration of Principles on Tolerance: ‘Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human’”
Have you watched the film Lilting? Fancy joining a future screening? Contact Namy Yu n.yu@surrey.ac.uk to share and stay connected.
