Xchange Perspectives e.V. (XcP) supported filmmakers from Sierra Leone, Ghana and Liberia to produce four Media for Peace films about the situation of young people in their respective country.

 

An ongoing filming session in Freetown, Sierra Leone, June 1, 2017.
Photo: XcP | Dominik Lehnert

 

 

MUNICH - The majority of people living in West Africa are young and between the ages of 14 to 24. What kind of life do members of this generation lead? What challenges do young people face today? What are their hopes, what are their dreams? These were the questions which inspired filmmakers from Sierra Leone, Ghana and Liberia to produce four films about young people attempting to make it in life.

 

The Media for Peace project On the Move brought together eight filmmakers. In the course of a one-week workshop in Freetown, they looked for stories which they found important and powerful. Then, drawing on these, they put together scripts for four films. At the same time, participants received training to be able to teach others about filmmaking and the media’s role in society in the future.

 

In fact, the filmmakers had an opportunity to do just that the very next week, when 24 additional participants from Sierra Leone, Ghana and Liberia joined the group. These new arrivals were then taught about script development, film production and film technology, and in Media for Peace, by the eight filmmakers, now trainers, who had taken part in the previous workshop.

 

The participants subsequently produced two documentaries and two dramas, which you can watch here.

 

 

These films are also shown in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia, and beyond: on television, at festivals or events, as well as via a mobile cinema, which will tour through all three countries, thereby reaching people with little access to media. The idea behind all of these screenings is to reveal the issues affecting young people in these countries and to stimulate dialogue.

 

A project by WELTFILME.org, SLADEA, Culture Radio and Xchange Perspectives. In cooperation with Youth Bridge Foundation and NAEAL. With financial support from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and Brot für die Welt.