News
Architectural Violence: A closer look at the West Bank
By Lizzie Kendal As part of this year’s Summer Season exploring walls, barriers and borders today, the Frontline Club hosted a preview screening of The Architecture of Violence on Wednesday 13 August. It was followed by a Q&A with director Ana Naomi de Sousa and protagonist, architect and activist Eyal Weizman, moderated by filmmaker Olly Lambert. The film […]
Animals caught in a stalemate
By Lisa Dupuy Rabbit a La Berlin, a film by Bartek Konopka and Piotr Rosołowski which will be screened on Wednesday 20 August, examines the plights of a colony of rabbits which lived between the two barriers of the Berlin Wall. Enclosed in this space, the animals lived undisturbed lives – until the Wall was […]
Tiananmen revisited: A collective amnesia
By Alex Glynn Although they took place 25 years ago, the horrific events that occurred in Tiananmen Square still remain a contentious subject in China and a point of obsession around the world. On Tuesday 29 July, a panel of experts at the Frontline Club revisited one of China’s most contested historical events, and considered questions of legacy, impact […]
“Zero Accountability and Massive Power”
By Ratha Lehall On Monday 28 July, the Frontline Club hosted the preview screening of One Rogue Reporter, which was followed by a Q&A with director Rich Peppiatt, chaired by professor of television journalism at City University, Stewart Purvis. Peppiatt was a tabloid journalist with the Daily Star, who publicly resigned in 2011. His resignation […]
Erdogan lined up for victory in presidential polls
By Richard Nield Turkey’s prime minister Racep Tayyip Erdogan will win next month’s presidential elections and become the country’s first directly elected president, according to a panel of experts assembled at the Frontline Club on 22 July 2014. The Frontline Club event was chaired by Murat Nisancioglu, the head of Turkish Service at BBC Global […]
Seeds of Hope: Sanctuary and recovery in the DRC
By Ratha Lehall On Monday 14 July, the Frontline Club hosted a screening of Seeds of Hope, a documentary which focuses on the effect of rape in Eastern Congo, where it has become a widely used weapon of war. The film centres around one woman, Masika, who is herself a victim of rape, and her determination to provide a […]
Cruel Journeys: Shorts on Migration
By George Symonds “Where can I go to have a decent life?” On Friday 11 June, Shorts at the Frontline Club took viewers on a cinematic journey that showcased the different ways used to document the world we live in. The theme: migration and the phases of migration. Two at the Border by Tuna Kaptan and Felicitas […]
The Heroic Tragedy: Who is Dayani Cristal?
By George Symonds “The Journey towards you Lord, is life. To set off is to die a little.” (The Migrants’ Prayer) On Monday 7 July 2014, the Frontline Club screened Who is Dayani Cristal? The film follows actor Gael García Bernal as he retraced the footsteps of a Honduran man found dead in the Arizonan […]
Tracing Migration
By Lisa Dupuy Where there are borders, attempts will likely be made to cross them in the hope of reaching greener pastures. But the individuals who try are not necessarily welcomed by those who live on the other side. Fences, walls and legislation are thrown up to at least regulate the influx of migrants. And in some cases, borders are […]
Fifty Years of The New York Review of Books and its Arguments
By Antonia Roupell On Thursday 26 June an audience collected at the Frontline Club to watch Martin Scorsese and his longtime documentary collaborator David Tedeschi’s latest film: The 50 Year Argument. This multi-layered documentary offered a unique historical retrospective over the last 50 years through the eyes of the iconic New York Review of Books. […]
Ground Zero at the Frontline Club
By Richard Nield A compelling Frontline Club event on Wednesday 25 June showcased film and photographic work from across the globe that revealed both the depth of suffering and the strength of human spirit in some of the world’s most devastating internal conflicts. Featured at the event was a series of photographs from Tim Freccia in […]
Summer Screenings and Happy Hour
Throughout the summer we will be showing a series of films exploring walls, barriers and borders today, 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Prior to the screenings, from 5.30 – 7.30pm, the club will be open and serving a Happy Hour menu of sharing platters and summer cocktails.
Iraq on the Brink
By Elliott Goat “This started before Maliki and will go on long after Maliki.” – Hayder al-Khoei
Ukraine: a new challenge
By Sally Ashley-Cound On Wednesday 18 June at the Frontline Club, Bridget Kendall, diplomatic correspondent for BBC News, chaired a heated panel discussion on the current situation in Ukraine and the role of local and Russian media in the region.
Protecting whistleblowers: “The people always have a right to know”
By Allendria Brunjes A six-person panel, experienced with an array of whistleblowing cases, came together at the Frontline Club on Tuesday 17 June for the Amnesty International event, Protecting Whistleblowers. Speaking to a sold out room, the panel – which included lawyers, a journalist and a whistleblower – discussed issues of truth, access to information […]
“If I didn’t get an agreement, I failed.”
By Tom Adams On Monday 16 June, the Frontline club hosted director Karen Stokkendal Poulsen and veteran European diplomat Robert Cooper for the screening of Poulsen’s new film, The Agreement.
Return to Homs and the journey of two friends from pacifist protestors to rebel insurgents
By Sally Ashley-Cound Return to Homs follows two close friends and young revolutionaries as their beloved city is taken over by the army. Basset is a local football star, the goalkeeper for the Syrian national team who also became an iconic singer in the revolution, and Ossama is a media activist and pacifist. The intimate portrait shows how […]
Tough road ahead for Egypt
By Richard Nield In the aftermath of victory for Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in recent presidential elections, Egypt’s government faces a huge challenge to unite a fragmented society behind difficult economic reforms, agreed a panel of experts speaking at the Frontline Club on 10 June 2014, chaired by Rasha Qandeel, presenter and journalist at BBC Arabic.
Fault Lines in Unknowable Spaces: Boko Haram and the hunt for Nigeria’s missing schoolgirls
By Elliott Goat The Frontline Club’s First Wednesdays kicked off a discussion on the news story that has dominated all others over the past month: Boko Haram and the hunt for Nigeria’s missing schoolgirls. Channel 4 News’ foreign affairs correspondent Jonathan Miller, chairing the evening’s discussion, began by asking who are Boko Haram? What are their ultimate objectives? How […]
Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence in Conflict
By Tom Adams On Tuesday 3 June, with just a week to go until the start of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Frontline Club hosted a fully booked event on preventing and responding to sexual violence in conflict, with specialist reference to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Secrets of the Vatican: Screening and Director Q&A
By Ratha Lehall On Monday 2 June, the Frontline Club hosted a screening of Secrets of the Vatican, which was followed by a Q&A session with the film’s director and producer, Anthony Thomas. The film focuses on the sexual abuse scandals that emerged from within the Vatican during the time when Pope Benedict led the Roman Catholic […]
Syrian Snapshots: We started with hope and ended with despair
By Greta Hofmann At the screening of Syria – Snapshots of History in the Making on Thursday 29 May at the Frontline Club, host Vaughan Smith was joined by Abounaddara Films producer Charif Kiwan, former Le Monde editor and founder of the WARM Foundation Remy Ourdan, and photographers Patrick Chauvel and Paul Lowe, for a pre-screening discussion as well as a […]
Making Light – Benefit for Hostage UK and the Syria Appeal at Save the Children
Saturday 12 July 2014, 6.00 – 10.45 PM The Olivier Theatre, Bedales School, Petersfield, GU32 2DG Frontline Club member Anthony Loyd’s recent escape from kidnappers in Syria highlights the very real and present danger faced by western journalists reporting in the country. The family and friends of someone who was kidnapped 18 months ago, who […]
Lying to Survive: Love, Sex, Death and the Search for Truth In Tehran
By Elliott Goat “To live in Tehran you have to lie. Morals don’t come into it. Lying in Tehran is about survival.” Speaking at the Frontline Club on Wednesday 21 May about her new book City of Lies, Ramita Navai was joined in conversation by the BBC’s Middle East Correspondent Jeremy Bowen. She began by elaborating on the […]
News and information security in the digital age
By Allendria Brunjes SecDev Group CEO and information security expert Rafal Rohozinski brought digital news issues and security to the forefront on Tuesday 20 May. In partnership with BBC World Service, the night’s focus ranged from regional social media and “robo-lobbies” to data journalism and the internet’s role in warfare. Rohozinski, who also co-founded Psiphon and […]
Hearts of Oil: Virunga Sneak Preview + Q&A
By George Symonds “They are like my family.” “They’re just fucking monkeys.” On Thursday 15 May 2014, the Frontline Club screened Virunga, a masterful documentary that portrays both the highest of human empathy, and lowest of murderous greed in eastern DR Congo. Present for the Q&A were director Orlando von Einsiedel, producer Joanna Natasegara and investigative […]
Balochistan at a Crossroads: Beauty and brutality
By Anna Reitman Balochistan is one of the least known stories about Pakistan yet its geo-political strategic importance and abundant natural resources means control of this province is a high-stakes battle, said Declan Walsh, The New York Times bureau chief for Pakistan. Walsh was on hand on Wednesday 14 May to launch Balochistan at a Crossroads – the […]
On the frontline of defending women’s rights: A conversation with Human Rights Watch
By Anna Reitman The Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch joined The Guardian’s Liz Ford on Tuesday 13 May to discuss the highs and lows of the challenges faced in improving the lives of women and girls around the world. The event took place as the world’s attention focuses on Nigeria’s kidnapped schoolgirls and subsequent failure to […]
Dear Leader: From inside the North Korean elite
By Alex Glynn North Korea’s former poet laureate gave the Frontline Club a rare opportunity to hear about life inside one of the world’s most secretive and intriguing nations, in a discussion about the reality of its present and possibility of its future. Defector Jang Jin-sung was joined by Asia expert and commentator, Peter French, […]
Documentary Shorts Screening: Sound and Vision
By Antonia Roupell On Friday 2 May, a crowd gathered for a now-familiar Friday set-up of documentary short screenings at the Frontline Club. Wotienke Vermeer, the documentary programmer, introduced the evening’s line up. She explained that this time there was no subject theme for the films but noted instead on the films particular use of sound. […]
