Dreams of African youth: Screening short films on International Youth Day
In August 2018, Dreamtown celebrated International Youth Day through two events, in Aarhus and in Copenhagen, screening a series of short films to portray the lives and dreams of young people in three African countries. The events were held together with our good friends from FAIR and hosted in ActionAid Denmark's two cafés.
At Cafe MellemRummet in Copenhagen
At Café Mellemfolk in Aarhus
Dreamtown, FAIR, and ActionAid Denmark all try to create #SafeSpace4Youth - which was the theme for this year's International Youth Day. In between the films, Dreamtown, FAIR, and ActionAid Denmark told a bit about the visions behind our respective organisations and the youth-driven organisations that we support. By 2050, Africa’s youth population is expected to reach nearly 1 billion. Therefore, we believe it is important to promote direct civic support for youths, and focus developmental cooperation on the opportunities which the young population needs in order to pursue their dreams and fulfil their potential.
70 people came to watch the short films with us and had an encounter with the lives and passions of youths in Malawi, Madagascar and Sierra Leone. The movies we screened were:
Mercy’s Blessing: "In a rural village in the heart of Africa a teenage boy has a dream: to raise his younger sister and himself out of poverty. But when a twist of fate shatters his hopes, everything seems lost and he is faced with the ultimate choice”. The short film has won multiple international awards and has been screened in film festivals worldwide. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BDYP5JTarA.
Mada Underground: An urban opera composed by the voices of Malagasy youth full of talents and energy: “A group of young people are intent on making their mark in Madagascar's cultural history. From gifted slam poet Caylah to inventive visual artist Temandrota and a crew of entrepreneurial skateboarders, a generation of young Madagascans are making space for creative projects”. Trailer: https://vimeo.com/220329911.
Dansa: The film is one of the results of young filmmakers from Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Liberia coming together to portray the lives of youth in West Africa. Dansa is one of four films produced in 2017 as a part of WELTFILME.org's project “On the Move”: “Dance is Morris’ biggest passion. Held back by his parents’ traditional expectations, he finds out what it takes to fulfil your dream”.
You can learn more information about the International Youth Day here: https://unhabitatyouth.org/international-youth-day-2018/.
We hope to do more events like this, so stay tuned at our facebook page for future events!