8 May 2008

Members of Melbourne's Spanish-speaking community will celebrate their Spanish identity in Australia's multicultural landscape with the launch on Thursday 15 May of a documentary produced at Victoria University.

Media are welcome to attend

'Moments of Identity' is the second part of a pilot project started last year, which explores the question of identity of Melbourne's Spanish-speaking community.

The 25-minute documentary presents interviews with VU's Spanish Studies students and teachers, their friends, and community members. It investigates their sense of identity, their often bilingual backgrounds, feelings about their heritage, and how their mixed identities are perceived by others.

'Moments of Identity' is the final part of a project that started with a bilingual theatre production and workshops under the artistic direction of past VU students and artists, Marcela Nievas and Tibor Gede. The first part of the project was held last May for Maribyrnong City Council's 'More than Words' Festival.

The screening of 'Moments of Identity' will be followed by a dance performance from members of the Mexican Social and Cultural Association of Victoria, MexVic.

VU teachers Sarah Tartakover (St Albans Campus) and Paul McSherry (Footscray Park Campus) produced the project. It was sponsored by a seeding grant from the University's Institute of Community, Ethnicity and Policy Alternatives (ICEPA), as well as funding from the Victorian Government's Multicultural Commission.


Launch Details

Where: Victoria University, Bldg G, Room 370, Footscray Park Campus, Cnr Ballarat and Geelong Rds, Footscray.
When: Thursday 15 May2008.
Time: 7.00pm

Further information: Leticia Worley, Spanish and Spanish Studies Co-ordinator, VU
Ph: (03) 9919 5451.

Media Contact: Andy Gash, Snr. Media Officer,
Marketing & Communications Department, Victoria University
Ph: (03) 9919 4950; mobile 0411 255 900