Taalhuis Amsterdam

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Cinema has long been an effective medium for language learning, offering rich insights into the culture of a country or region. That’s why our school hosts an annual Cineforum, a series of film screenings designed for all those who love Mediterranean languages and cultures.

Our Cineforum this year focuses on the theme of migration—a timely and relevant topic deeply intertwined with language barriers and the challenges of navigating diverse cultures. Each month, we will feature a film that explores a unique migration story, presented in a different language.

This year, all proceeds from Cineforum ticket sales will be donated to Mediterranea Saving Humans, an organization committed to helping migrants stranded in Southern Europe. Taalhuis Amsterdam supports Mediterranea and its projects.

The film evening begins with a brief introduction in English, where our teachers provide insights into the film and its director. After the screening, you’ll have time to discuss the film’s themes and practice speaking the language you’re learning—sometimes with group activities or assignments led by the teacher.

This month, we watch The Dove Flyer (2013) by Nissim Dayan.

Time and place: Saturday, 19 October 2024, Muiderstraat 24
Duration: 1h 45m
Languages: Hebrew, Arabic, and Baghdad Jewish Arabic
Subtitles: English

Program
19:00 – Introduction
19:15 – Film
21:00 – Aftertalk

*The ticket price includes one free drink. The movie has English subtitles and the introduction and after-talk sessions will be in English or another language depending on the preference of the participants.

What to expect
Before the screening, our teachers will provide an introduction to the film (in English), offering insights into its context, noteworthy elements, and characteristics of the work and the director. During the introduction you will be provided with some elements that will allow you to fully enjoy the film, not only from the point of view of its artistic beauty but also from the point of view of its cultural content.

After watching the film, there will be time to discuss and chat more about what we have seen and share discoveries and points of view. If possible, we will use the language you are learning with fellow students, teachers, and native speakers.

About the movie
“The Dove Flyer” is a 2013 film directed by Nissim Dayan, who also wrote the screenplay based on the novel with the same name, by Iraqi-born Jewish writer Eli Amir. The film depicts the story of the last days of the Baghdad Jewish community of the 1950s, and on the eve of the Aliyah: the immigration of the Jewish from the diaspora to the Land of Israel. This community was the world’s oldest Jewish community and a very big part of Baghdad’s population. Through the eyes of a 16-year-old Jewish boy, we see the struggle of a community torn between historical and cultural ties to Iraq and support for the emerging state of Israel.

The Dove Flyer challenges the stereotypes about Arab Jews in Israel and the Arab world. In Israeli cinema, the film presents a new type of Mizrahi (Oriental Jews) film, unlike the usual style of Borakas films, which portray Mizrahi Jews in a stereotypical backward image. In addition, the film received wide positive reviews in Israel, as it sheds light on the suffering and violence that Arab Jews were subjected to before their immigration, while the emerging Israeli state marginalised them.
Get your ticket here

Get your ticket here.

Cinema has always been a medium that has reflected the society of a country, just as film may be seen as a tool to influence the society, customs, and even the language of a country. For this reason, Taalhuis Amsterdam organizes a small annual cineforum for its students and all lovers of Mediterranean languages and cultures.

This year, we have decided to support an organization that serves a cause in which we strongly believe: Mediterranea Saving Humans.

Since 2018, Mediterranea has been working to rescue people who are crossing the sea to reach Europe and risk their lives. As a language school with a focus on Mediterranean languages, whose mission is to make the world more multilingual (and also more multicultural), we believe that migration is a human right and we support Mediterranea and its projects.

This year’s Cineforum has the theme ‘migration’ and ticket proceeds will go to Mediterranea Saving Humans. Each month, we will feature a film in a different language that tells a story of migration. There will be a short introduction and some time to discuss the movie after the screening with our teachers and/or volunteers of Mediterranea. We are happy with this collaboration and excited to share this event with our community of students and language enthusiasts.

This month, we watch ‘Politiki Kouzina’ (2003) by Tassos Boulmetis.

Duration: 1h 48m
Languages: Greek, Turkish, English
Subtitles: English
Get your ticket here.

Program
19:00 – Introduction
19:15 – Film
21:00 – Aftertalk

*The ticket price includes one free drink. The movie has English subtitles and the introduction and after-talk sessions will be in English.

What to expect
Before the screening, our teachers will provide an introduction to the film (in English), offering insights into its context, noteworthy elements, and characteristics of the work and the director. During the introduction, you will be provided with some elements that will allow you to fully enjoy the film, not only from the point of view of its artistic beauty but also from the point of view of its cultural content.

After watching the film, there will be time to discuss and chat more about what we have seen and share discoveries and points of view. If possible, we will use the language you are learning with fellow students, teachers, and native speakers.

About the movie
Πολίτικη κουζίνα (Politiki Kouzina) refers to the cuisine of Konstantinoupoli – the Greek name for Istanbul and often only named Poli (City with a capital) because it was for a long time The City of the Greek-speaking world. The food and way of cooking in this city is one of the cherished cultural elements that came to current-day Greece following the catastrophic events of ‘exchanging’ populations in Greece and Turkey.
This cuisine is the title and decor of ‘Politiki Kouzina’ (A Touch of Spice), a Greek feel-good movie from 2003 with a beautiful soundtrack by Evanthia Reboutsika. The film is directed by Tassos Boulmetis and had a fantastic reception, winning – among others – the Best Film award at the Greek State Film Award.

Fanis, a successful but somewhat bored astronomy and astrophysics professor, goes to Istanbul to visit his grandfather Vassilis. It is no ordinary visit, Grandpa Vassilis is about to die and he and Fanis have not seen each other for 30 years. They haven’t seen each other since Fanis and his family had to leave Turkey in 1964 following the Istanbul Pogrom (1955-1978) when the ethnic Greek community of Istanbul was reduced from 135,000 to 7,000 by a series of government-orchestrated riots, pogroms, and deportations. On his return to Turkey, Fanis recalls his childhood with his grandfather, a spice trader who mentored him, and their terribly painful separation as well as the loss of the place that had once been his home.
Get your ticket here.

Get your ticket here.

Cinema has always been a medium that has reflected the society of a country, just as film may be seen as a tool to influence the society, customs, and even the language of a country. For this reason, Taalhuis Amsterdam organizes a small annual cineforum for its students and all lovers of Mediterranean languages and cultures.

This year, we have decided to support an organization that serves a cause in which we strongly believe: Mediterranea Saving Humans.

Since 2018, Mediterranea has been working to rescue people who are crossing the sea to reach Europe and risk their lives. As a language school with a focus on Mediterranean languages, whose mission is to make the world more multilingual (and also more multicultural), we believe that migration is a human right and we support Mediterranea and its projects.

This year’s Cineforum has the theme ‘migration’ and ticket proceeds will go to Mediterranea Saving Humans. Each month, we will feature a film in a different language that tells a story of migration. There will be a short introduction and some time to discuss the movie after the screening with our teachers and/or volunteers of Mediterranea. We are happy with this collaboration and excited to share this event with our community of students and language enthusiasts.

This month, we’ll watch Couscous (2007) by Abdellatif Kechiche.

Duration: 2h 31m
Languages: Arabic, French
Subtitles: English
Get your ticket here.

Program
19:00 – Introduction
19:15 – Film
21:45 – Aftertalk

*The ticket price includes one free drink. The movie has English subtitles and the introduction and after-talk sessions will be in English.

What to expect
Before the screening, our teachers will provide an introduction to the film (in English), offering insights into its context, noteworthy elements, and characteristics of the work and the director. During the introduction you will be provided with some elements that will allow you to fully enjoy the film, not only from the point of view of its artistic beauty but also from the point of view of its cultural content.

After watching the film, there will be time to discuss and chat more about what we have seen and share discoveries and points of view. If possible, we will use the language you are learning with fellow students, teachers, and native speakers.

About the movie
France, 2000s. We follow the adventures of Slimane, a man originally from Tunisia but who immigrated to the port city of Sète. At the threshold of sixty, Slimane feels chased by a sense of failure: he is divorced, his job as a dockworker is coming to an end because of his age, and the hopes he had pinned on emigration are collapsing one by one. But he can still dream, and his dreams begin with food: the delicious couscous that his ex-wife used to prepare every Sunday for the whole family. Slimane wants to start again from there, from the cohesive power of good food, for a venture that can give his family their lost well-being and unity. Will he succeed?

Couscous (La graine et le mulet) is directed by the Tunisian-French director Abdellatif Kechiche and won the Special Jury Prize and the César prize in 2007.
Get your ticket here.