16 – 20 March 2023 (In Athens)
Ever since the first steps of the “Filming at Intersections” (FILMINTS) team, with the Communication and Filmmaking Trainings, the three Local Working Groups (Athens, Wuppertal, Malta) have been working together, putting to use the skills they have acquired, and have produced 5 more films. The 10 participants from Malta and Wuppertal travelled to Athens, to meet the local team and to participate in an ‘Advocacy & Fundraising’ Training, as well as to attend the Positively Different Short Film Festival 2023 (PDSFF23). Although their arrival day coincided with a general strike in Greece, and despite several flight cancellations, almost all team members managed to arrive for four days full of cinema, enthusiasm, productive discussions and empowerment, concluding with plans to create something that exceeds the films and the project itself.
The group, having already bonded and having worked extensively together, attended a two-day advocacy training with Eleni Takou, regarding what advocacy is, where it comes from and how it can be used as a tool to promote ideas, empower communities and propose policies, bringing forth actual change. The training provided information on past campaigns in Greece, such as X them out, while the practical exercise was based on the Positive Value Map, where participants could unleash their creativity. They also attended a one-day fundraising training with Sotiris Petropoulos, where they discussed ways to fund a project, both as part of an organisation and as an individual.
Resistances was the subtitle and the theme of PDSFF23. This year, through 7 narrative sets including 38 films from 17 countries, the festival attempted to understand, discuss, and look critically into ongoing dystopias, the complications of our societies, the concepts of body and space, as well as relationships that matter, communities and the power of imagination that ensures survival.
The festival included a FILMINTS screening, where the 3 movies created during the Filmmaking Training, but also the 5 movies created in the following months, were all screened, in front of an audience including the FILMINTS team, the Inter Alia team, filmmakers – guests of the festival, as well as residents of the area and friends of the festival. An open discussion followed, where the FILMINTS participants provided details about their creative processes, emotions, realisations and thoughts and exchanged ideas with the audience and with each other. “I don’t have these struggles anymore”, is the phrase that stood out.
The participants left Athens with newfound excitement and motivation for their upcoming advocacy campaigns and policy proposals, as well as ideas for new films, campaigns and all kinds of actions.
Read the full story in the following document.
Read the evaluation report below.
For more information you can contact Hara Papadatou and Boyka Boneva.
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