About the Film 
- ‘Poignant, touching and very amusing’ Across The Arts ★★★★
- ‘One of the most beautiful documentary films I’ve ever seen’ Liz Lochhead (Former National Poet of Scotland)
- ‘Lyrical, beautifully filmed…an inspiring, bittersweet documentary about language, communication and national identity’ Glasgow Film Festival
Synopsis:
Colours of the Alphabet is a feature documentary film on language and childhood in Africa, telling the story of three Zambian children and their families over two school terms, and asking the question: does the future have to be in English?
Steward, Elizabeth and M’barak are three first time school pupils in rural Zambia, struggling to make sense of an educational system where the language they speak at home is different from the language used in the classroom, and slowly discovering that their tongue is no longer their own.
When nearly 40% of the world’s population lack access to education in their own language, the film offers an intimate, moving and often humorous insight into a global phenomenon from the unique perspective of three innocent children.
Production Details
- Year of Production: 2016
- Countries of Production: UK / NZ , Country of Filming: Zambia
- Length: 80mins and 60mins
- Director: Alastair Cole.
- Producer: Nick Higgins
- Dialogue Languages: Soli, Nyanja, Bemba, English
- 80min version Subtitles available in: English, English HOH, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Turkish, Sardinian, Polish
- 60min version Subtitles available in: English, English HOH, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Turkish, Sardinian, Czech, Akan, Amharic, Bemba, English, Ewe, Fula, French, Hausa, Igbo, Kikuyyu, Kinyarwanda, Lingala, Lozi, Luganda, Luo, Magalasy, Moore, Nyanja, Oshiwambo, Portuguese, Tswana, Shona, Soli, Swahili, Tigrinya, Tsonga, Tswana, Wolof, Xhosa, Yoruba, Zulu
- Audio Description Available: English
- IMDB Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4368862/
