2023

Danilov, Artem; Khokhlova, Anastasiia; Nechyporenko, Sofiia; Shagaev, Andrii; Zaykovskiy, Mikhail; Zharenko, Viktoriia; Raad Salih, Harith; Kärkkäinen, Katarzyna; Pöyhönen, Sari

This documentary film is the final artistic output of a six-weeks-long co-creation workshop realized by the University of Jyväskylä in collaboration with Aurinkopaja (a part of youth art workshop actions in the City of Jyväskylä). Inspired by a photography and video editing session within the workshop, six participants continued with gathering more footage for a short film. The documentary film was created collaboratively with the participants and a professional film maker Harith Raad Salih. This involved numerous planning and montage sessions, gathering footage in Jyväskylä, during a trip to nature and a research trip to Helsinki. Some of the participants decided to follow their own interests and dream. The documentary is a series of three individual videos edited by the participants in pairs. Through this film the filmmakers wanted to tell that despite what has happened and what is going on in Ukraine, their lives continue. They are active, interested in learning new things, exploring Finland and building their lives further as any young adult would do. The co-production of the documentary made possible to express new type of identities that go beyond the usual discourses on refugeehood present in the policies and societies. Co-creative and arts-based approaches enhanced making the participants’ experiences, dreams, and otherwise unnoticed moments of learning visible to others and the participants themselves.