TITLE: Melina in Wonderschooland
LOGLINE
A young girl faces the compulsive character of the current schooling system and decides to react by pursuing ways to feel more comfortable with the learning experience
SYNOPSIS / STORY OUTLINE
Melina who is severely challenged by an oppressive school system is a primary school student in a rural Greek public school environment, where she faces discrimination due to her dyslexia. After an incidence where her teacher insults her in front of the whole class, she is determined to change school. We follow her journey to her new school where the whole family moves in order for Melina to be a student in the school of "nature and colours" as Angelos, the young and enthusiastic school principal, nicknamed this public school. At the end of that academic year the principal decides to resign, not conforming to the school inspection authorities who tried to intervene and stop the child centered pedagogical methods of his teaching. Melina is devastated because she has to go back to her old school and this event sparks her interest to explore self directed learning environments where the voices of the children are being respected.
ISSUE / CONTEXT: please describe the background (social / political / environmental / human rights) of your project
The fact of my daughter's participation in a specific school environment has raised questions about the nature of education and in connection with the operation of schools of the so called anti-authoritarian pedagogy, I was intrigued to explore in more depth the issues raised by the operation of such examples within the existing institutional and social context ...
Getting to know the people who did practice their visions for a regenerative education and are actively involved in the life of each new practice field of learning, while hearkening the special needs of a child during her development to an adult person.
This documentary attempts to answer some of the questions raised by the very nature of democratic schools worldwide, with a view to present answers that become more deeply understood on many levels, beginning with the lives of children and their learning environment and reaching the impact and importance of democratic education in the social field of child rights.
STYLE / CINEMATIC APPROACH: please briefly describe the form(s), style(s) and format(s) in which your story could be best told. For whom? And why these?
There is nothing predetermined, in the sense that we let each action be effortlessly unfold in front of the camera. We follow the spontaneous expression of individual actors and give them the opportunity to join the filming process.
We avoid interfering in the natural flow of the girl's expression, thus taking advantage of the dynamic spontaneity offered to us. We try to incorporate into the body of the film, elements of each alter ego adopted by her , in the form of a different persona she freely chooses in each location.
Another feature of the technique and the resulting style, dictated by the very particular subject matter of the film is the catalysis of the dividing lines between the "director" and the "actors" by a kind gesture of offering the field of expression to the protagonists themselves, through the opportunity to contribute creatively to the film, in a way that takes into account the specificity of each case and in line with the issue of the very democratic principles.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTION: please describe the main protagonist(s), your relationship and your way of working with them*
Since the main character is my daughter I have the rare opportunity to record every action and her reactions to different situations and circumstances that affect her daily life in a wide range of locations. I try to avoid interfering in the natural flow of her expression, thus taking advantage of the dynamic spontaneity offered to us. My aim is to incorporate into the body of the film, elements of each alter ego adopted by her, in the form of a different persona she freely chooses in each location. This is a feature that emerged during role play combined with media literacy workshop and evolved into a proposed subjective view that extends the recording field of reality through the prism of a new, every time, original studied live performance in front of the camera lens.
ACCESS: please describe concretely your access to characters, locations, supporting institutions, etc.*
The main supporting institution that already has provided some funding is EUDEC , the European Democratic Education Community. Supplementary to this is FemArtAct association,which provides post production support.
The main characters are already part of the project and contribute significantly to the completion of the film by being available for filming in various intervals during the year.
All locations are cleared for access to filming and constitute the ideal settings for this story.
TARGET AUDIENCE: who would you like to watch/experience your project and why you think it would be important for them to see it?*
This documentary film is aiming to inform about established democratic schools in Europe and to raise awareness about democratic education, having in mind the special concerns of contemporary Greek society towards this subject. The country where democracy was born falls nowadays short of being proud about the 'democratic' methods used in its education system and the social governance in general. Consequently, the target audience is not only Greek parents, educators and children but international.
EXPECTED IMPACT: what is the main/biggest change you’d like to achieve/create through your project and why? How do you want to achieve it?*
Raising awareness about child rights in the educational system worldwide and attempting to create a paradigm shift in the ways we treat non adults in learning environments that are supposed to be there for them without considering their views and opinions.
The film will address these issues and adultism, in the light of possible activist initiatives that may create a fundamental critical mass of people among the audience who will organise to demand changes in the educational system worldwide.
PARTNERSHIPS: Do you have already partnerships in place (broadcasters, NGOs, institutions, etc.)? Tell us concretely what kind of partnerships you would develop around your project and why.*
Non profit organization EUDEC based in Germany is one of the main contributors to the production of this film and a core partner in its distribution. With more than a thousand members it is the ideal partner in spreading the messages of this film to the European audience. We would aim to secure partnership with the Greek Ombudsman for children's rights which strives for democratic and inclusion policies in education, as well the accreditation of UNESCO.
MOTIVATION TO DO THIS PROJECT: what is the urgency for you to realise this project? Why are you the right person to do it?*
I am a cinematographer and film/media education facilitator for kids and young people. I am following the democratic education patterns and I am currently working on two adjacent projects, one of them happens to be the creation of this documentary. The other one is the co-ordination of a group of parents, children and educators with the aim to start a new democratic school. My belief is that we urgently need to provide more inclusive learning opportunities to all children based on solidarity.
EXPECTATIONS: What do you expect from ESoDoc in the development process of your project?*
I expect that the programme will help me substantiate my ideas and plans while providing me with essential tools to articulate my vision. I believe that the collaborative approach and the hand-on workshops will prove conducive to my development as a story teller in this format while giving me new insights on the possibilities of distribution in other formats.
Please give us more information on how you would imagine it, explain why you would chose it, and what would be the challenge for you using this format?*
As a major part of the target audience consists of young people who are more accustomed to new media , it is possible to reach this audience in a multiplatform distribution which will engage them according to their interests while creating opportunities for direct interaction with the content.One feasible outlet might be a video game which will incorporate the basic characters and locations presented in the film , challenging the players to make their way through the conventional education route in order to discover key principles of self-directed learning.
Please give us more concrete details about the state of the project (i.e. how long have you been working on it? Have you already done research trips? Did you find already all characters?)*
The project started in 2015 and all major characters have been filmed already. Since the film structure follows a diary format , the story unfolds in terms of events over time in which the main character of the film is shown reacting to different circumstances as she is growing up from a child to an adolescent. The footage accumulated so far has a duration of 50 hours. The final stage of the story is going to be filmed on high school graduation day and during a youth summer festival.
When and for how long are research and production planned (please indicate concrete dates/periods)*
Additional filming will take place in June and August 2023. Preliminary editing will start in September 2023. Final editing stage and post production will take place from October to December 2023.
Other info
A documentary dealing with alternative forms of education and democratic schools. An itinerary exploring the knowledge and learning outside state controlled education. Learning coincides with the discovery of sources of knowledge through travel, in order to experience freedom. We learn how to learn, along with the child and record and share our experience.