Fifteenth Annual DokuFest Film Festival Tackles Extremism with Young Videographers

Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Ambassador Delawie and USAID Mission Director Hope together with DokuFest organizers and tourist information crew
Nori Haxhibeqiri, USEP

The town of Prizren hosted the fifteenth annual International DokuFest Film Festival from August 4th-12th.  In conjunction with the festival, DokuFest is implementing a project with young videographers aimed at helping communities build greater immunity to violent extremism through film and media.  Ambassador Greg Delawie had the chance to meet with this group of 15 promising film-mkaers on August 7th, as they participated in a training session on how to produce documentaries focused on the ways that youth are affected by extremism through social media.  International film-makers helped to mentor the videographers during a workshop on storytelling, and DokuFest provided technical training on the use of cameras, audio recording, and post-production.  With support from our Engagement for Equity activity, the participants will now produce a series of short documentary stories on topics including extremism, property rights, LGBTI rights, and bullying which will be distributed through national TV broadcasts and social media outlets, as well as in local high schools in targeted locations.  The videos will be a jumping-off point for discussions among the students on the ways that their lives and communities have felt the impact of these complex and sensitive issues.