War and conflict documentaries showing at IWMN

Six documentaries produced by University of Manchester MA students are to be screened at a special Imperial War Museum North event next week (27 Sept). The films have been made by students as part of their MA course in War, Culture and History , which is Directed by Ana Carden-Coyne from the School of Arts Histories and Cultures. They include a look at the work of acclaimed 'The Machine Gunners' author Robert Westall; Manchester immigrants; WW2 soldiers from Scotland; the story of a farmer barred from war service and 'people's taxis' on both sides of the Northern Irish Troubles. There is also an investigation into the effects of the anti-terror laws on young British Muslims living in Manchester and London today. She said: "Most of us get our knowledge of war and conflict though TV and films, especially Hollywood dramas such as Spielberg's Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan or the formula that brought Band of Brothers. "Historians often struggle with making inroads into the way we understand war and conflict. "Now the University of Manchester's Masters' graduates from the Centre for the Cultural History of War have produced six documentaries on issues of war and conflict in the past and in society today.