Northern Michigan University has planned film screenings and other activities for its World Languages Week celebration March 20-24. All are free and open to the public.

Monday, March 20:  “The Language You Cry In” documentary will be screened at 7 p.m. in 1322 Jamrich Hall. The film finds meaningful links between African Americans and their ancestral past, bridging hundreds of years and thousands of miles from the Gullah people of present-day Georgia back to 18th century Sierra Leone.

Tuesday, March 21: The French film, “Les glaneurs et la glaneuse (The Gleaners and I), will be screened at 7 p.m. in 1322 Jamrich Hall. This 2000 documentary deals with the issue of wealth and poverty in modern-day France by exploring the world of gleaners and pickers. Gleaners are individuals who search farm fields for produce the mechanical harvesting equipment may have left behind or urban garbage cans for food items supermarkets have thrown away. Pickers collect non-food items put out for refuse collection to recycle or produce self-styled art.

Wednesday, March 22: The German film, “Hannah Arendt,” will be screened at 7 p.m. in 1322 Jamrich Hall. It explores the life of philosopher and political theorist Arendt, who reported for The New Yorker on the war crimes trial of the Nazi Adolf Eichmann.

Thursday, March 23: “Maquilapolis (City of Factories),” a Spanish-language film about workers in assembly plants along Mexico's northern border struggling to make ends meet, will be screened at 7 p.m. in Jamrich 1322.

Friday, March 24 is the World Languages Day event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Jamrich 1313. It will include the following activities:

11-11:30: Study Abroad Opportunities at NMU

11:40-Noon: Planet Chat: Belgium

12:10-12:40: Career Exploration for Students of Modern Languages

12:50-1:10: Planet Chat: Austria

1:20-1:50: Anishinaabemowin Lesson

2-2:20: Planet Chat: Chile

2:30-3: Music from Around the World

The NMU Department of Modern Languages and Literatures sponsors all the World Languages Day and events. For information, call 227-2940.