Initially three sessions were spent delivering basic film production skills. The subsequent process with this group included drama tuition and media education through continual discussion about content style.

The production 'evolves as it goes along' - reviewing rushes led the group to decide quite late on, that their film needed someone with a positive experience of the service both as a structural device and as an essential voice to be heard by the audience.

Breakaway

'The second film was my favourite. Breakaway takes us through the moment when a young man decides to grab a few things and leave home. The camera work is fresh and the soundtrack is great - the music playing in Gavin's ears, competes with the voices of his mother and step-father arguing about him.

Gavin's dreams are full of other moments when he's been made to feel unwanted, in the way, a burden. He wakes, stuffs a few clothes into a sports bag and leaves. It is short and simple - and direct. We know that this moment has been added to all the others. We know it makes him feel bad. We know it started when he stepped in the front door. We understand why he might feel he is better off just getting away from there.'

This project began with a small group of 13-15 year olds in foster care wanting to make a short drama-based film. Again the project had to be flexible enough to accommodate the difficulties the young people were experiencing in their own lives, which impacted on their ability to meet at regular intervals.

'These are young people who've been told all their lives that they're useless and what MTR is about is saying "yes you can do this. Here is how." And then giving them the control and encouragement.'

For example, MTR suggested they film in a children's home but the young people wanted to move away from being identified in this way. Led by the young participants' vision of their own production, MTR assisted them in building a set for their shoot. The final piece's style and content reflects the groups' input.

Our Life

The two friends I went to the screening with came out at the end saying that Our Life, the third and last and longest film shown tonight, should be more widely seen. This seemed to be in response particularly to the film's content - a film made the children of asylum seekers about what they thought of this country and their countries of origin.

The hand-held camera gave it an amateur feel. There were spontaneous laughs from the audience in places because the editing had left in what other circumstances might have been considered out takes but this also gave Our Life its authenticity.

These young people must have had control over everything to do with the camera and they had taken it places, or spoken with people, rarely seen on our screens, giving the film an insider feel. In the current political climate of scapegoating asylum and refugee communities this was indeed a welcome breath of fresh air.

Our Life - A Mouth That Roars Production

However, I would have preferred to read sub-titles in order to hear the Kosovan group talk in their first language. Many of these young people were finding it difficult to express themselves in English and limitations in vocabulary reduced them to making very similar statements to one another. If they could have talked more expansively their faces might also have told us more.'

Our Life was a partnership commissioned by Theatre Venture (TV)³ (a Hackney based community, multi-arts resource) as a method for outreach that might foster relations with social groups of children not currently accessing arts activities.