Youth Exchange “From Pollution 2 Inclusion”
26th of July to 3rd of August, 2021
Krusevac, Serbia
The Project was already a challenge even before starting. There was a problem in the plane that was bringing us to Belgrad so we had to land back and wait for another plane. This made us lose the last bus to Krusevac, so we had to find a hostel in Belgrad to spend the night and wait for the next morning to take the bus to the venue.
Once in Krusevac everything started smoothly, getting to know each other and sharing our expectations, contributions and how the project will be structured. Then we started to enter into the specifics of Video filming, specially applied to the creation of a Short film which was one of the main goals and outcomes of the project. From Script writing to recording and editing we got to know the basics of this beautiful discipline. Then, different groups were created according to the experience and personal interests and of each one. The core task of the project was to create a Short film to raise awareness about air pollution and the protection of the environment, using this tool as a way to promote youth activism and raise our voice for a more conscious approach towards the climate change.
After discussing altogether, we came up with the idea for our video: presenting a post- apocalyptic scenario in which due to the long-term contamination of the environment the air is limited and just available on plastic bottles. We wanted to point out the importance of the current plastic management, not just on the policies available but also on the choice and consciousness of each individual when dealing with this material. With this in mind we started to develop the script and conceiving the first shots for our video. Since one of our ideas was to explore the surroundings of Krusevac, we decided to go to shoot in the near river, which is affected also by pollution. This was one of the best parts of the project, to record all the things that we had planned and discussed, it cannot be written how many times we had to repeat scenes because we could not stop laughing…
Once we had all the scenes shot it was time to start to edit and assemble the film. In this regard we have to give a big shout out to Jose Luís, who taught us some great insights about the video filming such as how all the sound is properly recorded and tips to apply on the video editing phase. This phase took some time and many reviews and contributions from the team. You can check out the film in the following link:
Once upon a time in Serbia by Acho production. Youth Exchange “From Pollution 2 Inclusion”
Finally, once our short film was completed and delivered, we had some time to rest and enjoy from the nice job done. The next day, after the evaluation and closing of the project, we went to an event organized in the local youth centre of the city. In there we watched all the short films that had been produced in the project. It was a great experience to see the diversity of topics and approaches that our colleagues choose to portrait the concept of Pollution.
I cannot finish this without making also a big shout out to all the team that participated in the film: Josep, Pablo, Irfan, Jose Luís and Alex, for all their contribution and nice energy all along the work. I want also to thank all the team from SFERA, Katerina, Nemanja and Milco, for their attitude, guidance and support, providing all the contents in a logical step by step way that helped us to build the film. The fact of working on a multi-national team sometimes makes it hard, but when you see the result, the reward is double. The feeling of satisfaction and connection that you feel with your colleagues when you are done is very gratifying. To conclude, I just want to state that living together for 9 days with people from different cultures is always an added value and an enriching experience in which you learn many things, from you and from others.
Thanks to everyone that made it possible.