The Shortcut programme was developed with funding from the EU’s Erasmus programme and the symposium was aimed at post primary education educators, the youth/community sector, mental health/social services organisations and those working with young people at risk across Northern Ireland. The symposium unveiled a toolkit of film education materials which have been written to provide a host of creative possibilities for the exploration of and creative responses to societal and personal themes and topics such as mental health, poverty, racism, migration, addiction, social media, grief, the justice system and human rights.
Some highlights included screenings of a selection of our Shortcut films and Q&As with their subjects and filmmakers including local director Ross McClean; a drama workshop with Bruiser Theatre Company; screening of Stay Alive plus Q&A session with the film's writer, and playwright, poet and journalist Clare Dwyer Hogg, a poetry workshop facilitated by staff from MSc Art Psychotherapy, Ulster University; and a Masterclass Panel for Young People featuring Music Video Producer, Callum Harrison and London based Film/TV Director, Cornelius Walker.
Sarah Lawrence, Education Manager of Nerve Belfast Creative Learning Centre, said “For over 30 years Nerve Centre has championed film as a key creative tool of empowerment for children and young people. We have seen how film can truly change lives. The 20 short films available on our Shortcut website that we have selected with our European partners in Poland and Bulgaria, are compassionate, vital works that put the real struggles of young people onscreen, both the humour and the heartbreak. They can offer hope and inspiration to a generation of young people struggling to find a voice.”
This was the first large-scale event hosted at Nerve Belfast’s new home in W5 LIFE at the Odyssey Complex. Opened in November 2022, The Odyssey Trust officially launched this new 20,000 sq. ft facility to address the skills requirements of Northern Ireland’s increasingly digitalised economy. Nerve Belfast will share this space with collaborative activities from W5 LIFE’s founding partners Microsoft, Almac and Belfast Harbour.
The Shortcut programme is supported by the Department of Communities through NI Screen. European partners include CEO, Poland, JSNS/OWIS – One World In Schools, Czech Republic, Os Filhos de Lumière, Portugal, and Arte Urbana Collectif, Bulgaria.
Learn more and sign up to access the Educational materials available at Shortcut's website.