The final meeting of the Erasmus + project "Starring together in our film", Laquilla 11 - 16 March 2019
The final meeting of the Erasmus + project "Starring Together in our film" took place in the Italian city of Laquilla from 11th to 16th March 2019. The project includes students from Italy, France, Germany and Bulgaria. The aim of the project is to make the participants be aware of the problems of migration and migrants, with the final product being the production of a film in which they present their point of view on the topic.
Day 1 We arrived in Laquilla after lunch. The preliminary plan of 09.30 and 12.00 has officially opened the work on the project with a welcome to the teams of the creator of D. Cotugno.The meeting with our colleagues, with whom we have been partners for a third year, was more than happy and expected. Bulgarian students were welcomed by their Italian hosts - pupils and parents and taken to their accommodation. Students spent a nice evening in the company of their host families. Over the past three years of the project they have had a lot of memories and stories to share. The opportunity to get acquainted with Italian families and to spend a few days with them is an important social experience that students have acquired during the course of the project.
Day 2 The day began with lecture on the topic “the language of the violence in school”- what factors make students use these words and how they can manipulate us and change us. This activity continued from 09.30 to 13.10. After the presentation of the main aspects, the lecture offered to the students an interesting practical exercise - how important it is to be careful when we speak with the words we use, the students had situation where they had to say 2 positive characteristics to their partners looking in their eyes and share 2 negative comments with their classmates. In this exercise the participatants were divided in 2 - the French with the German group and the Italian with the Bulgarian group. This task put the students through interesting conclusions about speaking in general, about the stereotypes which form our opinion. Another important aspect in this topic was the communication in the social media. The lecture ended with discussion, opinions and sharing experience of the students. Meanwhile the teachers- head of this project discussed the upcoming program and questions about the closing of the project. From 13.10 to 15.00 students and teachers took the opportunity for free time for lunch or just for a walk. The hosts showed us the building- regenerated and with lighter construction after the earthquake in 2009. We discussed the organization of the education process, common problems and actions at work. Our Italian partners got us acquainted with the different specialties in the school- musical, classical, economical profile, and also the electronic school. Then our host invited us for lunch in the refectory, where we continued whit the discussions and rejoiced in traditionally Italian dishes. From 15.00 to 17.00 the students prepared and presented group work on the topic “citizen of ХХI century”. The exercise had a serious social effect, because the groups weren’t equal- every single group had different materials-more or less, with whom to present their ideas and to combine the rationalization of this detail in discussion about inequality, the differences and the skills to cream with a situation with no matter where are we come from, who we are and to which category we belong. The preparation of the presentations, the discussion of the ideas as a team, the presentation of the work, the empathy to the topic and the English skills are the part of essential competence, with the students’ development and participation in the activities.
Day 3 At 7.30 from the school yard we left for Rome with our first stop being the film studio “CINECITTÀ”. After all this is the topic of the project and the students, having previously taken on the roles of directors, screenwriters, actors, film crew, lighting specialists, sound specialists, makeup artists etc. deserved this encounter with the big Italian cinema. “Il cinema è l’arma più forte.” ( Cinema is the most powerful weapon.) - with this statement in 1937 Benito Mussolini founded the film studio. And even though that he used the cinema later on for the purposes of a totalitarian regime, after the WWII “CINECITTÀ” turned into a place for freedom of speech and presentation of different points of view in many genric plots such as realistic ones, comedy, social, adventurous and many others. We were taken on an exciting tour through the museum where in different sections we saw the art of Federico Fellini, Roberto Rosselini, Luchino Visconti, Sergio Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese etc. A special guide took us through different studios, including Fellini’s favourite studio n5 amongst them. We acknowledged all the productions filmed in “CINECITTÀ” and we had the chance to take a stroll in ancient Rome thanks to the amazing decors from the series of the same name. We also “visited” Jerusalem, as well as all therooms with stage props and costumes. We took pictures in front of the great Venusia from Fellini’s “Casanova”, the carriage from “Pinocchio” and the emperor Augustus. The walk in this “Hollywood of Tiber” was quite impressive and reached its end at 12.30. After a nice lunch at the cafeteria of “CINECITTÀ” we headed towards the Coliseum and the second part of our time in the ancient and modern Rome began. From the Capitoline Hill and Piazza Venezia to the Trevi Fountain and Piazza di Spagna our trip ends at 17.30 at Piazza del Popolo. We left for L’Aquilla feeling excited by all the activities during the day and all the memories which, despite the heavy rain at the end of our walk, we will cherish for long.
Day 4 At nine o'clock we gathered around the "Luminosa" fountain where we began our tour around the town of L'Aquila, situated in the Aterno valley at the foot of the Gran Sasso mountain, in the Abruzo region. The town municipality and the residents are united by the idea of reconstructing their town, which had been destroyed by an earthquake. We visited a few fountains, which number 99 according to a legend, and the basilica "San Bernardino", built between 1454 and 1472 in honor of St Bernardino of Sienna. The saint's relics are kept in a mausoleum in the church. Another intriguing sight was the spanish fortress. The castle was restored in the 50s of the twentieth century and is now the museum of Abruzo. During the tour the students had the opportunity to see different sights around the city while playing a game, called "Scavenger hunt". From 12:30 until 14:00 we had lunch and enjoyed our free time. We went to the school where we prepared the presentations for the next day. Meanwhile the teachers discussed the final activities on the project. At 18:00 a special party for the students took place in the school's gym. We spent an unforgettable night with a lot of food, prepared by our hosts, loud music, traditional and modern dances and a lot of laughs.
Day 5 This was the big day for the presentation of the final product of the project - "Starring together in our film". This ook place in the movie theater "Muviplex". Our Italian partners have promoted the upcoming event to students, parents, and the public with a poster prepared on advance. At 09.30 the official presentation started. Our Italian colleague Laura presented the idea of the project and the working teams. The director of the lyceum “D. Cotugno” greeted the guests and participants in the project, stressing the importance of their efforts to work on such problems of the present day, when aggressive talk, negation of the various and xenophobia are intensifying. The director also highlighted the positive effect of getting to know the partners from different countries and cultures for their joint future in Europe. The Deputy Mayor of Laquilla, responsible for the development of education welcomed the participants in the project and focused on the efforts they made on this difficult topic and the role of the Erasmus + projects in overcoming stereotypes and exploring different people and cultures. “Young people are the ones who will share a common look in united Europe and for us it is important to support and realize such joint activities” After the official opening, all groups reported on their activities, experiences, emotions in the course of project tasks, through their prepared presentations. In each presentation a special place was devoted to the process of creating the various scenarios, processing the dialogues, preparing the actors, lighting, make-up, as well as working on individual scenes, costumes and other details of the filming process. In every presentation the young people shared the positive emotions of the meeting and the mutual entertainment with their peers during the exchanges in the different cities - Laquilla (Italy), Schule (France), Berlin (Germany) and Burgas (Bulgaria). After the presentations the finished film was presented two times. The audience was psresented withthe four stories about the difficulties of the choosing, about the dilemmas, the compromises and the emotional burden of the young people, who shared everything dearly and costly in the name of a better future. Various fates were showed in the final version of the film - that of Bulgarian youths who decide to continue their studies abroad and a girl from Portugal who, despite the difficulties, is willing to study dancing in France at all costs, a Muslim boy looking for a future in Italy and two sisters fleeing from the horrors of the war in Syria to Germany. These stories were assembled in a film during the work of the teams in Berlin. There the students united around the idea that all short films should be presented in the context of a meeting about migrants and migration, where an English teacher invites their students. Going to the meeting, they get to know these stories and discuss the fate of migrants and the complexity of such solutions in today's world when large groups of people are looking for their second chance, a new opportunity leaving their relatives and family behind. There is also the serious problem for people who are on the other side. Those who accept migrants or reject them fearing that their world - calm and settled - will fall apart. That escalates in the conversation about the prospects for a united Europe and the difficult processes of migrant integration. The film was accepted with great interest. Before the beginning of the projection, the audience also enjoyed the musical performances from the students of the lyceum. After the first presentation of the film, the Teachers' Teams were presented to the audience. They congratulated the students on the serious work and the excellent result. The guest - teachers thanked the hosts for the hospitality and the well-organized activities during the final stage of the project. Everyone shared satisfaction with the fruitful partnership and the idea of future cooperation on other topics in a joint project. This day was full of emotions. It ended with a dinner in the dining room of the lyceum where in a good mood, excellent food, exchanged gifts and memories of different trips, difficult or fun situations, we put the final point of our joint Erasmus + Partnership project :"Starring together in our film " The film https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Rl-opQv00HyAuRG4fR0uy_lb4h20ikbb
The meeting in Berlin Newsletter from the Bulgarian Group Berlin, 28.05-1.06.2018.
day 0- We met at the station in Burgas, just some minutes before the train started, in fact Maya was a bit late, but not too late , so we got on the train and ... the warm night embraced us in its hug and we fell asleep for the night trip to Sofia. Sofia met us by empty streets , it was Sunday, about 6.00am, so nothing strange, in fact. The match form the night before was still the topic of conversation for some of the walkers , some of them still slightly intoxicated. And ... after half a day in Sofia we were there at the airport , waiting for the flight. It was right on time, and after all the formalities we were some 10 000 above the ground in the blue sky to Berlin. Berlin – arriving on time – met by Mrs Varuzza and the girls at the airport. Lovely ... Went to the hotel, had some very good time after that, walking to the Brandenburg Tor and hanging arounf the area. Sunday is over. Day 1 of the meeting, met in the school Hermann Hasse, met by the head mistress of the school and having some nice time. Refreshment drinks and snackss and some ice-breaking. Arranging the things about the real work on the film. We had a lunch reak and then every team presented itss part of the whole broad picture . It may sound a bit ... too much, but our part, the Bulgarian version came to be the best one , and shot as a short decumentary film. All od the teams liked it. Then we discussed the way all the 4 parts should be combined and reaaranged so that we make the final version. ( very active participation on behalf of Maya and Simona) , they offered some really niv ideas , which (all agreed) would be mplemented in the story. Day 2 - real hard team work, the groups worked hard to fullfill their tasks – some were responsible for the script, others had to do the decoration stuff, still others – to work with costumes and the way the 4 parts should be linked together. We also had a chance to attend some classes in Math and in English, well, it is interesting , we can say that the system in germany is quite different from the one in Bulgaria, a littel bit more relaxed and the atmosphere is calm in classes. The sress is not there. Everybody was trying to give possible answers and THINK about different versions.A night to spend togehter with out hosts – the German girls, who were very kind and showed us around the city before welcoming us in their homes. Day 3 – excursion time – bus and walking arounf some of the best and most interesting sites of Berlin - Humbold University, the German Parliament , the Opera house, the exhibition , museums, and the Berlin wall. There was a nice trip to Tiergarten, a nice place to have fun, a delicious lunch and some fun rowing in the lake by boats. ( Greta almost fell in the lake from the small boat we had hired). Then an hour under the hot sun on the beach volley, J well, I know there is no sea in Berlin, but they have made it – lots of volley courts , covered with sand, so ... we were playing some ballgames and enjoying ourselves.Oh, and not to forget – the street musicians in Lustgarten, by he church were amazing, and Alexanderplatz is not to be missed as a meeting point of all people- at any age,occupation, vocation, interests, etc. It‘s been quite hot for the last couple of days here, even ....a bit too hot for Berlin, people say... Day 4- second part od the film project, cutting and reaaranging the pieces. Some parts were shot again. Some were shot several times, just to make them better. In fact the Bulgarian part had been chosen as a center of attention. The main idea revoles around the topic migration and the short presentation , developed by our team. All was done in the music hall- wonderful, big, lots of equipment, free place and time to work. All the was was done, and all the girls were happy with the result. The final touches were left for day 5, and the „cut and stick“ job is yet to come. A nice dinner in a small restaurant, wursts, and beer ( just a bit ..) husshhh, some of us are not 18 yet J J J Day 5 – final touches for our film, all went pretty good, and everything was prepared as planned – the difficult thing was to make a nice transition between the 4 parts and to rearrange some of the parts, so that we can have a really nice and complete film , ready to be shown in front of public. And ... yeasss, the bowling was fun. Really. Then a walk back to the hotel and ... a good night sleep /waking up was scheduled for about 6.00am/, and the short trip to the airport should be in dew time. There was a short meeting bewteen teachers , arranging things for the next meeting in Cholet, and talking about the work done and the things completed. Day 6 Waking up early, breakfast, and here we go to the airport, the familiar custom formalities (episode 2) and we are flying to Sofia. Well, my teacher asked us if we can rate the meeting in a scale up to ten , and most of us said 8 out of 10, even 8.5/10. Not bad , ah ? ... Sofia , just in time to get the underground, then have some time for a cup of tea/coffee, sandwitch and ..mineral water . Bus – stratng @3pm. Nice ... tablets in front of our seats...too sleepy for them, but Slavena could watch a whole film till we reached Burgas. 8:30pm Well, here we are...East or West home is best ... We are expecting more trips , more friends and more fun And yes, we are starrig together in our own film. Because togetherness is the name of the game, or the film in our case.
Newsletter from the Bulgarian Group Burgas, September 11 - 15, 2017. Day 1. In the first day of group work, we were introduced to all the people in the project who had chosen to visit Bulgaria. We introduced them to our alphabet and our currency. We then showed them around our city, whilst getting to know them better. After that, we had a "rally" through Burgas to do some sightseeing. We went through the most important parts of the town and asked them where they came from and what they thought of our city? We asked them if they knew about the different nationalities who had previously emigrated to Burgas in large numbers. We ended up at the sea-garden and the famous sea-casino. After that, everyone received a deserved rest.
Day 2. Our trip to Nessebar was very nice. A few of the Bulgarian students had prepared some information about local churches, which resulted in the Italian, French and German students learning a lot about them. We visited Christ All-Mighty, St. Sofia, St. Stefan and St. John Aliturgitos. Whilst getting to know the churches and their history, we managed to have a taste of the atmosphere in the Old Town of Nessebar. Afterwards we were separated into random groups, with each group having a different task. This required everyone to visit the New Town as well. The first group should visit the archaeological museum and research: What has happened with the Greek minority in the town? Is there a Turkish one? The second group should meet with a notary in Nessebar, with the help of their Bulgarian colleagues, and research if foreigners buy property in Nessebar, as well as investigating which nationality these people are. The third group should visit the real estate agency in the New town and research if foreigners buy real estates in Nessebar and where do these people come from? The fourth group should analyse the results from the research of the second and third groups and determine the main reasons for the settling of certain foreigner groups in Nessebar? Having completed our tasks, all the groups gathered by a fountain on some benches, where we spent the remains of our free time together. Then we got back to the Amphitheatre, where we had to meet with the teachers and present the information we had gathered whilst working on our tasks. Having completed that, we headed towards the bus and drove off after a tiring, but memorable day.
Day 3 Today we had a workshop. It was such a nice experience because we got to play different roles and characters. The topic of the tasks and games was migration, and we had to present our ideas by performing plays. We worked in groups.Participants from each groups listened to the same instrumental music. Afterwards they had to develop ideas and scenes based on what they associate the music with, which would be performed in front of all participants. The question to be discussed was:“Music is an important part of a scene or a movie. What kind of music would you choose for your movie?” Each group received a sheet of paper with five dialogues. Afterwards each of the groups had to develop out of these five dialogues a scene of their own, where they could add some words or phrases and sentences and change the dialogues’ order. The scenes were then performed to the other groups. One voice would narrate the movie scenes, or each part would be narrated by a different voice. For the third task, each group chose a picture and created a scene for it. It doesn’t matter what the picture shows, what matters is what ideas and thoughts you want to share while looking at it, and to turn those ideas into a short theatre play. We then had a Skype conversation with the French and the Italian school. That was a very nice surprise for all of us. And that's how we met the other members of the project. After that we had lunch and free time. We took the foreigners for a walk and we got to spend a lot of time together, practicing several languages. We all spent the night at home with our family and new arrived guests. After that we had more fun in the Sea-Garden in Burgas.
Day 4. The whole group went to Sozopol. There, we saw many architectural sights and learned more about them. After that we formed four groups. Each one had to do a different exercise. The first and second group had to shoot a scene regarding the reaction of the natives in different situations when they see a foreigner. The third and the fourth group had to ask foreigners in Sozopol about their opinionon migration (the theme of the project). Does their country accept migrants in their country? We had to shoot these tasks and prepare to perform them the next day. Then we had some free time, so we all went to the beach and rested. We then went back to the bus and back to Burgas.
Day 5. On Friday, all the participants gathered at the school. The program started with presentations of our tasks in Sozopol. Afterwards, the Bulgarian and German groups presented their script ideas to the others. The day continued with a brainstorming of new ideas and deciding on the most efficient methods and scripts. The final decision was that the scene will be shot in an apartment in Berlin and the main characters will be four roommates from Germany, Bulgaria, Italy and France. It was decided that each country will show a different aspect of migration in a five-minute long movie. The Bulgarians will film a movie about studying as a cause for migration. The German group will show migration from the eyes of a German person living around refugees. The Italian group will show the economic reasons which could make a person migrate, and the French group will show migration as a way to pursue a dream career. Each of the abovementioned movies should be ready for the next meeting in Berlin. We ended the program with lots of fun, dance and music. Each nation showed a traditional dance to the others, and we said goodbye to each other.
Newsletter VI. from the Italian Group Burgas, September 11 - 15, 2017. Monday 11th: we started our meeting with some warming up activities to let the foreign students get familiar with Bulgarian currency and alphabet. Then the French group presented their work about a possible framework story and the Italians the scripts for their short film. Tuesday 12th: the full day guided excursion to Nesebar was highly interesting. The Bulgarian students illustrated the history and the complex relationships among the different populations that used to trade and cross the Black Sea. They guided us through the impressive churches that are scattered all over the area. Wednesday 13th: the students divided into groups first discussed their impressions on the visit to Nesebar, then they were given tasks to get awareness of the various steps to keep in their mind in order to plan a storyboard for their short film ( setting, analysis of the character, how to focus on the topic etc.). Later in the afternoon, while the students kept on working in groups, the teachers met to analyze some details of the project budget and to clarify misunderstandings occurred in carrying out the tasks for Burgas meeting: two partners had worked on the framework story while the others on the scripts for their own short. We worked out solutions in order to reset our work and be prepared for next meeting in Berlin. Thursday 14th: full day guided excursion to Sosopol. Again the students provided information about the different civilizations that marked the territory. After the tour the students carried out the tasks given to them on Wednesday 13th during the workshop, which exploited the issue of immigration ( interviews to passers-by, tourists and local people, short videos showing ordinary situations in the life of immigrants). Friday 15th: both the German group and the Bulgarian students presented their own ideas about the short film. The Germans proposed a couple of options for the framework story while the Bulgarians explained the main features of their film and the reasons for their choice. Their own film should be a portrait of what really happens in their country where the phenomenon of emigration seems to have a wider impact on their society than immigration. Then the students were split into groups according to their nationality and were asked to discuss the causes which bring migrants away from their countries. Each country then chose one topic to develop in its footage. We ended the Burgas meeting by stating exactly what we would be working on until the Berlin meeting: 1. the Bulgarian group will develop the theme of emigration for study reasons. 2. The Germans will develop the theme of being German and at the same time living the condition of a second-generation of immigrants. 3. The French group will deal with the aspirations and desires of those who migrate to fulfill their dreams and better their life. 4. The Italian group will voice feelings and emotions of immigration for economic reasons.
Students from Italy, Germany, France and Bulgaria worked on the "Starring together in our film" project from 24.04 to 28.04.2017 in Renaudeau, Cholet, France. This is an Erasmus+ project with the following program for the stated period 1. Day The French hosts welcomed the group with a gift for each participant. In another room, they had written in different languages "Hello" and "Welcome". Then everyone in the group presented "what he loves, what makes him happy, what makes him angry, what he hopes for and what he wants in the future, what he is and what he is not." With the help of volunteers, students wrote messages in different languages, thus showing that diversity in Europe is not a problem, but rather is what makes us rich. In the afternoon, the Bulgarian and French groups presented their mind maps on migration.
2. Day In a computer room, the participants listened to how migrants spoke in English about their experiences. Participants were then divided into 4 groups depending on the emigrant whose story they listened to and compared the results. Finally, each group had to present the life of their migrant. The meeting continued with a game called "In the migrant’s shoes" Each participant received an identity card, visa, and personal information about a migrant to place himself in his / her place. The students were divided into 3 groups because three paths were marked. After that, the game experience was discussed. The day ended in a group of three people. Each group received a migrant story and the purpose was to invent the rest of the story and complete it. Then each group presented their story.
3. Day This day was dedicated to Nantes, a city in western France. The participants had to carry out specific tasks related to the topic of the Immigration and Integration project during the whole week, which did not exclude the town of Nantes. Each group was challenged to make an art project for their city in the beginning. The Bulgarian group has been involved in a project that symbolizes shoes, saddlebags and suitcases from different periods, presenting the traces of many people who came to the Bulgarian lands after the Balkan war and World War I, the Armenian migrations, the exiles of the Bulgarian Turks in the 1980s, the escape of many Bulgarians from the communist regime, the many young Bulgarians who left the country after the changes After the creation of the Loire River, the participants were divided into new groups and started crossing the French streets in order to find different sights in the city and interview local people about their views on immigrants in the country.
4. Day The fourth day of the week spent in France was intense and memorable. The morning began with presentations of the Italian and German groups. They all were comprehensive and intriguing, with the Italian group having detailed information about the migration and the international population of their homeland, and the German students set their senses and told their own stories. There was also a project for writing and presenting my great, world-wide story, parallel to my native and personal / small history, which was discussed in plenary. After that, a project logo was selected and most participants voted for Martin Gospodinov's proposal from Goethe High School in Burgas and it became the official logo of the project. In the afternoon, the international group met with the best French basketball team, the Cholet Basket. Teachers and students had the opportunity to talk about the difficulties of living abroad, even though the choice to leave home was professional and completely independent. Two of the international players from the United States responded to student issues. The day ended with many smiles and positive emotions. The French parents had prepared traditional French dishes and, together with teachers and students, ate the delicacies, becoming part of a celebration full of wonderful moments.
5. Day The last day of the project was focused on group work - discussing various scenario ideas for the final film. The participants had over 10 different scenario views that they discussed online with German students traveling to their home country. Students shared their impressions of the day in a specially prepared notebook. The program for the next meeting in Burgas, Bulgaria in September 2017 was also discussed.