This initiative was chosen
because of the effective and intelligent use made by children of the powerful
medium of communication that is film.
Film is a communications
medium, in that it is a technical means and vehicle that conveys a message and
uses images and its own language in pursuit of the same goal as other media: to express something. Film uses encoding
methods that are very different and complex compared to the skills required to
decode them. In other words, it can be very simple to watch films, but not to
make them.
This initiative’s participants learn, through different activities such
as workshops, specific techniques for making clay animations and producing
well-made short films; in addition, they also learn and are responsible for the
script. Those scripts must be both attractive and easy to transfer into the
language of film, and they must also convey a message. Thus, participants take
advantage of the wonderful potential of film and the infinite possibilities of
showing specific realities that it offers.
The participants themselves
decide what to communicate and how to deal with the series of values they wish
to convey to the community. The media are thus placed in the hands of the
children and they become a tool for promoting and strengthening democratic
citizenship.
Another notable aspect of
this experience is that its activities include elements of cooperative
learning, through which the participants live and experience the same values as
are transmitted on the screen: solidarity, respect, and acceptance of
diversity.
GOALS SOUGHT
The aim of this initiative
is to use cinematographic means of expression to trigger various processes among
young people – for instance, reflection, participation, inclusion, teamwork,
conflict resolution, gender equality, etc. – through the implementation of a
play-based methodology that helps encourage those children to express
themselves through short films.
It also aspires to
disseminate among children the importance of a thorough knowledge of children’s
rights and to promote good practices in the use of art – in this case, using
film to strengthen identity, to attain self-realization, to develop social
awareness, and to strengthen and promote citizenship.
WHAT IT INVOLVES
In this initiative,
children come into direct contact with film-making tools to produce a shared
output in which such topics as inclusion, citizenship, and consensus-building
are crosscutting workshop elements. The initiative is divided into two parts: first, the workshops at which the children
produce their own short clay-animation films; and second, the workshops at
which those films are shown and discussed.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The age group covered by La
Matatena, A.C., is from 6 to 13 years in its workshops: “Frame-by-Frame
Clay-Animation” and the performance workshop “Dream Factory: Rights of the Heart.” Although the association
focuses its efforts on primary-school children, it has also worked with young
people aged over 18.
ACHIEVEMENTS
The short films are of high
quality: the children’s stories deal
with several messages instead of just one; they are crosscutting in nature and
they promote democratic citizenship. This is important because if children are
taught the importance of teamwork from an early age, they will understand that
everything they do in life is achieved through that. Teamwork helps build
self-esteem and promotes relations and interactions with others. The workshops
organized by La Matatena, A.C., are opportunities for children to express
themselves, where what they do and what they propose is heard, recognized as
highly valuable, and at all times respected.
SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES IN WHICH THE PARTICIPANTS COME
INTO DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE MEDIA
The workshops organized by
La Matatena, A.C., offer the participants direct contact with the media, in
that they learn about the tools and use them to express themselves. So, when
the participants see their films screened, the impact on them is greater,
because they understand the underlying teamwork and discipline that enabled
their production.
HOW THE PARTICIPANTS’
UNDERSTANDING AND USE OF THE MEDIA HAS CHANGED
The process of mastering
and implementing the use of this means of communication and of expressing
themselves through moving images has a significant impact on the participants
in that they feel and identify as “producers.”
Being a passive spectator
is not the same as participating and working in a creative process in which the
participants are the creators. This opens up an array of opportunities for
them, including the possibility of realizing that not only are they capable,
but also that they have acquired knowledge that reflects all the work behind
the production of a short film.
The screening of their
films at the International Film Festival for Youngsters (…and Not So
Youngsters), attended by more than 10,000 people over the space of one
week, also has a favorable impact on the participants in that they can see the
scope of the process they followed and the enormous challenge of sharing their
work. The children’s productions are also shown at leading national and
international venues – such as the Cineteca Nacional , the UNAM’s Filmoteca, el
Faro de Oriente, Monterrey Tech, and the Autonomous University of Chapingo –
where their efforts have also been recognized with several prizes.
INVESTMENT AND FINANCING
The annual investment
budget for producing four short films is forty-eight thousand (48,000) U.S.
dollars. Nevertheless, the annual funds received range from twenty thousand
(20,000) to twenty-four thousand (24,000) U.S. dollars, which allows them to
produce only two short films per year.
For the “Fábrica de sueños”
(“Dream Factory”) project, the budget is twelve thousand (12,000) U.S. dollars,
with which between 750 a 1,500 people can participate.
The main sources of funding
are public: grants from the federal
government and grants from the local government (e.g., the Human Rights
Commission of the Federal District).
EVALUATION AND RESULTS
Evaluations are carried out
by the same people who run the initiative, for each of the workshops they
organize.
Thus, at the “Fábrica de
sueños” workshops, the participating children answer questionnaires designed
for each age; their teachers are also required to fill out a questionnaire. At
the end of the animation workshops, the children also are given a questionnaire
to answer. When the short films are screened, the audience members at the
premiere are also given questionnaires. These questionnaires provide such
information as which short film had the greatest impact and why, what character
and which film were the most outstanding, etc.
In general, each evaluation
yields results that indicate the high rate of acceptance of the initiative’s
involvement at the participating schools.
RISK FACTORS
There are three main risk
factors associated with this initiative: (1) securing permission to enter public
schools; (2) failure to respect a work plan at the schools because permission
to hold the event there was not granted; and (3) any other contingency. In
2008, for example, when numerous cases of influenza were reported in Mexico,
the process was delayed and there was a risk that the project would not be completed
on schedule.
FUTURE PLANS
There is interest in
replicating this initiative in other parts of the Mexican Republic, expanding
it into other states and having an impact on more children. In this regard,
efforts have been made to establish joint, networked relations with the
Ministry of Public Education so that, by purchasing the rights to the materials
produced by the program, teachers can be given training.
The resources with which
this project has been carried out are insufficient; consequently, the project
requires the involvement of other players to turn it into a consolidated
program and a public policy, in partnership with the Ministry of Public
Education (SEP), the National Education Promotion Council (CONAFE), and the
National Council for Culture and the Arts (CONACULTA).
PERSON IN CHARGE: María
Liset Cotera García, Founder and
Director. La
Matatena, Asociación de Cine para Niñas y Niños, A.C. liset.cotera@lamatatena.org or lisetcotera@prodigy.net.mx
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