“Darwin’s Nightmare” - A Clough Center Film Night, featuring Director Hubert Sauper
November 30, 2023 | 5:00 - 7:30 PM | Devlin 110 | Please register to attend
Written and directed by Austrian filmmaker Hubert Sauper, the Oscar-nominated documentary Darwin’s Nightmare (2004) investigates the social and ecological impact of the global fishing industry in Tanzania’s Lake Victoria. When the Nile perch was introduced into the lake nearly half a century ago, it quickly extinguished the entire stock of native fish, and transformed the lake and its surroundings into a major exporter of perch for foreign markets. But what effects did this transformation have on the communities around the lake, who previously depended upon it? And what were its larger ramifications for the surrounding economy and environment? Such are the questions posed by Darwin’s Nightmare. And the answers it offers are as unforgettable–and controversial–as they are devastating.
As a contribution to our ongoing exploration of “Attachment to Place in a World of Nations,” the Clough Center is pleased to host a viewing of Darwin’s Nightmare, followed by a discussion of the film with Director Hubert Sauper. In dialogue with the Clough Center’s Director, Jonathan Laurence, Mr. Sauper will explore some of the salient themes of the film, as well as his larger approach to film-making and the subsequent projects he has undertaken since Darwin’s Nightmare. Please join us for the Clough Center’s first Film Night.
Speakers
Hubert Sauper
Hubert Sauper was born in Kitzbühel, Tyrolian Alps. After spending his childhood in Austria, he lived in Great Britain, the USA, Tanzania, Congo, and South Sudan. His “home base” since the mid '90s has been France, and he has studied directing in Vienna and Paris (at the University of Performing Arts and the Univ. de Paris VIII). Sauper’s sociopolitical and poetic films have won over 50 major international prizes, among them awards at the Venice Film Festival, Berlinale, and Sundance Film Festival. He has also been honored by the César Awards, the Austrian Academy Awards, and the European Academy Awards. His documentary Darwin’s Nightmare (2004) was nominated for Best Documentary at the Oscars in 2006. Mr. Sauper has taught as a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, UCLA, Columbia University, Colorado University, Universidad de Caracas, Universidad de la Havana, FEMIS, Istanbul University, Southern Mediterranean Cinema School, and others.
Jonathan Laurence
Jonathan Laurence is Director of the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy and Professor of Political Science at Boston College. He received a B.A., summa cum laude, from Cornell University, a C.E.P. at Sciences Po, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University. His principal areas of teaching and research are comparative politics and religion and politics in Western Europe, Turkey and North Africa. Prof. Laurence's latest book is Coping with Defeat: Sunni Islam, Roman Catholicism and the Modern State (Princeton University Press, 2021). Previously, The Emancipation of Europe's Muslims, was published by Princeton University Press in 2012, and received awards for Best Book in religion and politics and migration and citizenship from the American Political Science Association. His first book, Integrating Islam: Religious and Political Challenges in Contemporary France, co-authored with Justin Vaïsse, was published by Brookings Institution Press (2006) and Odile Jacob (2007) and named an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice Magazine. Prof. Laurence assumed the Directorship of the Clough Center in spring 2022.
Campus Map and Parking
Parking is available at the nearby Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue Garages.
Boston College is also accessible via public transportation (MBTA B Line - Boston College).
Boston College strongly encourages conference participants to receive the COVID-19 vaccination before attending events on campus.
