#DocYouth Alliance: Youth connecting through cinema

Over the course of online workshops, exchanges, film encounters and shared discoveries, young participants immersed themselves into watching and discussing four powerful documentaries selected for the official program of the 18th edition of Beldocs festival.

From the four films they watched online; “Azza” by Stefanie Brockhous, “When the Phone Rang” by Iva Radivojević, “The Helsinki Effect” by Arthur Franck and “Songs of Slow Burning Earth” by Olha Zhurba, and after long discussions, the Ukrainian film “Songs of Slow Burning Earth” was selected as a winner.

The Ukrainian director was present at the screening of her film, and the participants of this program had the opportunity to engage in a Q&A session with her. The discussion was moderated by Era Latifi and Vid Radicevic, who professionally guided the conversation by asking the director questions about her work.

As part of this collaboration, a publication was created featuring the participants reflections on the four films they watched. The publication is the result of an ongoing collaborative journey undertaken by a group of twenty young people from Kosovo and Serbia, brought together by DokuFest and Beldocs through the Doc Youth Alliance initiative. The publication contains a collection of texts that captures not only their engagement with cinema, but also their courage to connect, listen, and speak across differences and in solidarity. It stands as a testament to the belief that the transformative power of documentary filmmaking can bridge divides, and that youth voices are essential in building a more peaceful and inclusive future for the region.

During the next phase of the project all participants will take place in a Youth jury of DokuFest, where they will select a winner of youth themed film.

Doc Youth Alliance project was supported by RYCO, Regional Youth Cooperation Office.