FILMSTIGEN

Filmstigen is a unique film project for young people focusing on integration, with the objective to create opportunities and open new doors to young people from all backgrounds.

 

We began our work with Filmstigen in Sweden in the summer of 2016, when we – in collaboration with Föreningen Bergsjögården – created our first version of the project. We brought together a group of young people between the ages 13 – 19, half of them refugees and half of them Swedish born, that all got to learn how to act in front of a camera through workshops and then take part in a professional short film. The project was formed of three weeks of intensive workshops, when the participants learned about acting for camera, filmmaking, storytelling etc. We then started rehearsing the script, which was written based on the group we were working with, and the final week of the project, was our production week during which we shot our film called The Gray Type.  

 

The project proved to be a great success and the film turned out very well – and as the interest from youths and collaborators in the local community grew a lot stronger, we realised that this is something really worth expanding and explore further.

 

So in the winter of 2016/2017 we created another version of our project focusing more on filmmaking and the participants learning how to create their own films. We gathered a similar group of youths from different backgrounds; again, half of them were refugees and half of them Swedish born, that got to learn about all aspects of filmmaking from idea generation, scriptwriting, producing to directing, camerawork, sound and editing. The group was divided into three smaller groups that all got to make their own film from start to finish, with our help and guidance. The result was three fantastic short films all made entirely by the youths themselves. During this project we also set up a specific “Filmstigen-room” at Bergsjögården and created the start of what we hope is going to keep growing into a film hub in the area.

 

In March 2017 we organised Filmstigen film festival in Bergsjö, during which we showed all the films created via this project so far, as well as held Q&As with the youths involved. It was a great day and another big step towards what we believe will be a prosperous future for this project and it’s proven benefits.

 

In the summer of 2017 we created the third and latest version of Filmstigen. This time we wanted to create a new and improved project based on what we had learned from our previous two productions. We gathered a similar group of youths for three weeks of workshops, exploring the themes of Fear, Hopes and Dreams, and we then created a script based on the material from the workshops ie. their own stories and experiences in relation to these themes. We then spent a week rehearsing and for the final week of the project we shot our film Ty dagen den är din.

 

We are currently in the midst of expanding Filmstigen further, and our aim is to create a longstanding creative platform for young people, no matter their background or where they live. We have received great feedback both from the participants and their families and friends, and we have seen incredible benefits as a result of this project. Hopefully this is just the beginning for Filmstigen.