Next Week: Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Heritage Mother Tongue Film Festival Highlights Cultural Diversity

February 21-25, 2017
Various locations in Washington, D.C. 
Free and open to the public

The Smithsonian’s Recovering Voices Initiative will present films from across the globe on the occasion of its second annual Mother Tongue Film Festival. The five-day festival will open on United Nations Mother Language Day, Tuesday, Feb. 21, and will feature work representing 33 languages across six continents. The festival presents a curated selection of films on music, identity and place from communities around the world. Together, the program includes a variety of styles from drama to experimental and brings to light the value of language use and revitalization in today’s increasingly globalized world.

The festival will run through Saturday, Feb. 25, at multiple locations across the Smithsonian and Washington, D.C. Complete festival listings, times and locations are available at recoveringvoices.si.edu. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes before each show. All screenings are free and open to the public.

“Language is inextricably linked to our identity,” said Mary Linn, curator of cultural and linguistic revitalization at the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. “The Mother Tongue Film Festival foregrounds the role mother tongues play in fostering a sense of self, both across the nation and around the world.”