Short Films
These short films were created as part of the CIRCE international contest “Act Vocally, Think Globally”, involving secondary school and university students from Portugal, Italy, and Bosnia. The contest encouraged participants to reflect creatively on issues related to accentism, language, and identity, using audiovisual storytelling. The selected works reflect a diversity of perspectives and experiences and can be used as educational resources to foster dialogue, critical thinking, and awareness of linguistic discrimination in both formal and informal learning settings.
1
Beyond accent discrimination
Leonor Lopes
Portugal
This video depicts a relatable, everyday scenario in which two Azoreans, while dining together at a restaurant, experience discrimination from others due to their distinctive regional accent. As they engage in conversation, their accents — characteristic of the Azores archipelago — become the target of mockery from other teenagers. The video highlights the negative effects of prejudice, showing how people from different regions can be stereotyped based on the way they speak.
2
Speaking Neapolitan: a gift, not a barrier
Zoha Shafique, Martina Polverini, Sofia Gambineri, Jacopo Goti, Emma Martone, Francesca dello Stritto, Greta Ghignoli, Martina Bergamaschi, Morgana Manno, Viola Calvanese, Vittoria Sangalli, Aida Nicoleta Tica, Pietro Sgueglia, Sofhia Baldi, Virginia Capponi, Brando Donati, Marta Pernici, Sara Polvani, Francesco Ferretti, Francesco Barbagli
Italy
This video was created by students in the 3M Global Citizenship Education class, a language course with an additional hour in English dedicated to the themes of the 2030 agenda and an additional hour for developing computer skills. The topic of accent discrimination, proposed by the CIRCE project, seemed particularly inherent to the themes of the GCE course, and allowed us to address Goal 10 of the 2030 agenda “reducing inequality” in English.
3
The Hallmark of Who We Are
Maria Leonor Macedo Gonçalves
Portugal
An accent is an expression of cultural identity that shouldn’t be considered a mistake but rather a unique characteristic. Portugal, despite its size, showcases an immense variety of accents. Each region of the country has its own distinctive way of speaking: Alentejo is known for its sing-song accent, Viseu has its own style, Lisboa is characterized by a warm accent, as opposed to the northern one which is considered tougher and curse-prone. Despite not being in Portugal, Brazil has a very unique accent that is very melodic.
4
There is no right accent, there is diversity
Bianca de Abreu Pereira
Portugal
Different students and teachers from our school against accent discrimination.
5
To You
Irene Cardillo, Matteo Friso, Ledi Kullolli, Ste Gashi, Mirciu, Martina Terzi
Italy
Our video aims to raise awareness of the issue of accentism; in fact, it shows different ways of speaking by having some students read texts.
6
Voices of diversity – unveiling accent discrimination
Amina Vilajet
Bosnia and Herzegovina
In the media and on social networks, accents play an important role. Different television and radio programs may favor certain accent variants, which can influence the audience’s perception. Also, an accent may be associated with local culture and identity, which can be positive, but may also create divisions. In this video, we tried to show the best examples of accent discrimination between young people who can actually change that issue!