'Love and Desire: Sexuality and the Police State in Férid Boughedir’s Halfaouine'

On Tuesday, March 5, Professor of Cinema Robert Lang will discuss “Sexuality and the Police State in Férid Boughedir’s Halfaouine.”

Lang's talk, part of the Humanities Center Lecture Series on Love and Desire, will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Mali 1 lecture hall (Dana 201). The program is free and open to the public.

Halfaouine, the most successful film ever made in Tunisia, tells the story of a 12-year-old boy, Noura, who lives in Tunis. The film, about the awakening of desire and Noura’s transition to heterosexual maturity, combines this theme of desire with a commentary on the encroaching police state.

A Faculty Fellow of the Humanities Center, Dr. Lang teaches film studies at the University of Hartford and offers courses such as Road Movies, Arab Cinema, Popular Heroes and Film History. He has published in both French and English, is the author of two books, and is currently at work on a book-length project on Tunisian cinema.

An exciting line-up of scholars, performers and artists will continue on Tuesday evenings throughout the Spring semester in the Humanities Center Lecture Series on Love and Desire, led by Dr. Nicholas Ealy of the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures in the College of Arts & Sciences. All students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the community, are invited to explore love and desire in disciplines from the sciences to the arts, media, psychology, history, film, philosophy, and literature. All lectures begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Dana 201/Mali 1 lecture hall, and are free and open to the general public.