The project's primary objective was to equip youth workers with a comprehensive methodology for using short fictional films as a tool for nurturing resilience in young people with fewer opportunities. . Additionally, we sought to directly involve young people in testing this methodology, facilitating their active participation in the process. By involving young people with fewer opportunities in the process, and also collecting their feedback on how we implemented the methodology, we got useful direct comments on what really works with young people and what does not. ( for example- we found out that most young people already are so familiar with movie editing tools because of Tick Tock) We aimed to provide clear, practical guidance, encompassing both technical film production and artistic expression, enabling youth workers to engage their audience effectively. Through a project we created an e-learning platform that is open to all youth workers, by creating the platform we wished to reach as many as possible youth workers and give them a tailor made approach to film learning, where they can do it also at their own pace, as adapting the film process is a long term learning process .
We applied for this project out of collective partnership need for recognition of unmet needs among young people, particularly those with fewer opportunities. Our diverse knowledge and skills highlighted gaps in addressing the mental health challenges faced by this demographic especially in the post COVID era where young people needed to regain trust and find opportunities to come together again and interact. Despite the potency of film as a tool for engaging youth, there was a glaring absence of publications and methodologies tailored to effectively utilize short fictional films in youth work. We concentrated our work on developing a methodology that is tailor made for youth with fewer opportunities ( for this reason we also choose to work with short film rather than full lengths, as young people with fewer opportunities then to drop out of activities faster) The partnership's synergy, combining the filmmaking prowess of Gombolyag Foundation and IR MEDIA with the youth work expertise of ASPIRA Institute and Youth Bridges Budapest, presented an opportune moment to address these needs.