This pilot project was developed between 2019-2021 with financial support from UNHCR-The UN Refugee Agency (Gabriela Leu & Zoran Stevanovic) and in partnership with UNATC-National University of Theatre and Film "I.L. Caragiale" (Doru Nițescu) in Bucharest, PERIPHERIE Centre de Création Cinématographique (Agnès Jahier) in Paris. One World Romania acted as overall coordinator (Laura Orlescu).
 
The general goal of the project was to offer artistic mentorship and production support to film students from UNATC for the development of creative films with refugees. The focus was to bring the students closer to the refugees’ community in Romania, have them work together, go through the artistic process together and create films about their journey and ultimately about the refugees’ struggles and joys in starting new lives in a new country.
 
16 film students were selected to participate in the project and were divided into several working teams, mixing skills in directing, editing, sound, and cinematography in each team: Lucia Chicoș, Alexandra Diaconu, Teona Galgoțiu, Bogdan Balla, Andreea Chiper, Paul Chirilă, Gabriel Durlan, Ioana Iordache, Teodora Leu, Ilinca Miroșanu, Ștefan Pârlog, Letiția Popa, Ana Preda, Codrin Vasile, Andrei Lăcraru and Cristina Popa. 5 films were made, they are following the lives of Ammar from Syria, Z. from Syria, Amer Abdo from Syria (played by Oussama Dabbour), Aime from Congo, and F. from Afghanistan.

The mentors who closely guided the students for almost two years were filmmakers Vanina Vignal, Adina Pintilie, and Ivana Mladenović.

Throughout the project, the students were offered an intensive exploratory workshop on artistic approaches to documentaries and fiction-documentary hybrids, insights about the refugees’ community in Romania and the legal process, one-on-one numerous working sessions with the mentors, small production budgets and production support for film development, a special masterclass in directing and editing held by French filmmakers Alexandra Mélot and Guillaume Massart, a one-month editing residency in Paris with PERIPHERIE Centre de Création Cinématographique (offered to one film project), support for film submission to international film festivals and last, but not least, promotion by OWR, UNATC, PERIPHERIE and UNHCR through their own distribution networks.

In partnership with UNHCR, we will fully screen 3 of the films + a work-in-progress fragment from the 4th in a public side event during OWR14, when filmmakers, tutors and coordinators will share and reflect on their creative experience.

Special thanks go to Gabriela Leu from UNHCR Romania, Zoran Stevanovic from UNHCR Central Europe, Doru Nițescu from UNATC, Alexandra Mélot and Guillaume Massart from Triptyque films, Agnès Jahier and Sophie Walle from PERIPHERIE, CINETIC and ViraFilms for post-production services, PRISMA for translation and subtitles for 3 films, Vanina Vignal for translation and subtitles for one film + extra-mentoring, Laura Orlescu, Andrei Rus, Raluca Hașu, and Tudorița Șoldănescu from OWR.