Youth from different regions in Bulgarian will be introduced to topics related to climate change and biodiversity and create their own visual essays during dedicated panel discussions and hands-on workshops. The initiative is funded by the European Network of Cultural Institutes EUNIC.
Film screenings, discussions, practical workshops on storytelling, filmmaking, and master classes are part of the programme, which will involve over 500 Bulgarian students aged between 13 and 18 years old. This project is initiated and supported by the European Network of Cultural Institute EUNIC and the Bulgarian EUNIC cluster, including the British Council in Bulgaria as associated member of the Cluster. The project is implemented by Association Arte Urbana Collectif.
The goals of the initiative are eco-education and encouragement of young people from different parts of the country to use audiovisual media to send important messages, taking an active civic position and presenting an inspiring example from their region.
The project "See it, say it, film it!" will take place in Vidin, Troyan and the village of Karpachevo and will be executed in three stages in each settlement.
During the first stage (May 15 - 29) of the project, young people from the village of Karpachevo (May 15-16), Vidin (May 27-28) and Troyan (May 28-29) will attend screenings of two short film programmes with impactful social messages. They will introduce students to the topics of environmental protection and climate change, presenting them with a contemporary and creative reading of their meaning. Each programme will be followed by a discussion with a special guest related to the films. They will give young participants the opportunity to get to know the topics in more depth and relate them to their region.
Among the selected titles that will be part of the project are "Flores" (Flowers) by the Portuguese director Jorge Jacome, a film about the invasion of a... flower! Hydrangeas take over Portuguese islands and force the population to emigrate. And more: "The path is always different" (Austria) by the famous documentarian Oliver Ressler, who made a film about the occupation of a forest by people who want to stop its deforestation by an energy company.
The program also includes "I am Greta" (Sweden/Germany/Great Britain): the story of one of the most famous activists fighting for political changes in order to save our planet. And more: "When tomatoes met Wagner" (Greece, dir. Mariana Economou) - a story about elderly people in Greece who want to become part of the world economy with their production of organic tomatoes; "The Blue Tiger" (Czech Republic, dir. Petar Ukropec), which tells the story of a girl who wants to save the botanical garden in the city where she lives. The program also includes documentary, experimental and animated films from Hungary, France, Great Britain, Spain, Poland, Italy, Germany.
The film Songs of the Earth / Soumik Datta / soumikdatta.com from the British Council`s Climate Stories Collection will be part of the audio-visual works to be presented to the audience.
Songs of the Earth is film and music album response to climate change, weaving issues from climate migration, extreme weather to ocean pollution, deforestation and sustainable fashion through original narrative, songs and immersive visuals. It follows the story of Asha, a young climate refugee from Bengal, as she searches for her missing father through the flood banks of the Sundarban delta, burning forests and melting polar ice caps, highlighting the plight of the Global South.
Soumik Datta is Bengali-born British Indian musician and composer, and a virtuoso player of the sarod, performing classical Hindustani music around the world, as well as jazz, Indo-blues, drum’n’bass, and more. He studied at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. He was invited by Jay-Z to play at the Royal Albert Hall and has performed on stage with Beyoncé and at the Glastonbury Festival.
25 MINUTES / 2021 / UK
SOUMIK DATTA / DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
SACHIN BHATT, ANJALI KAMAT / ANIMATION
A British Council Creative Commission for COP26.
After the screenings and discussions, students will have the opportunity to step into the role of creators themselves. During the summer vacation, special youth film camps are planned, as follows in Troyan (July 1-5), the village of Karpachevo (July 8-12) and Vidin (August 19-23). Over five days, practical workshops will be held to create original stories and capture them in a short visual essay on a chosen environmental topic related to each area. The guest mentors will be film director Slava Doycheva, theater director, actor and workshop organizer Dimitar Uzunov and also Daniel Simeonov and Maria Dacheva, experts in the "Cinema in School" program of Arte Urbana Collective.
The grand finale of "See it, Say It, Film it!" will take place this autumn in the three chosen areas and will represent a whole day dedicated to the protection of the environment. The programme will include special events for children, a presentation of the short films shot by the students within the framework of the project, a screening of a film with a subsequent discussion or a master class of its director, artistic lectures and theatrical productions on a scientific environmental theme. Stay tuned for details!
Partners of the "See it, Say It, Film it!" project:
British Council in Bulgaria, Goethe-Institut Bulgaria, Instituto Cervantes Sofia, Italian Cultural Institute, Embassy of Austria, Embassy of Greece, Embassy of Slovenia, Polish Institute, Portuguese Cultural and Language Center "Camões Sofia", Hungarian Cultural Institute Sofia, French Institute Bulgaria , Czech Center Sofia, Bureau of the European Parliament in Bulgaria, Municipality of Vidin, "Mihalaki Georgiev" Regional Library in Vidin, School "St. Kliment Ohridski" Troyan, National Community Center Nauka-1870 in Troyan, "Devetashko Plato" Association, Lovech Regional Administration.
For additional information you can also visit https://arteurbanacollectif.com/ and https://www.eunicglobal.eu/