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Ometz Youth at the Segal Centre’s MediaWorkshop
Immigrant children tell their stories through film
Compiled by CJN StaffThis fall, eight children of recent Jewish immigrants to Montreal enjoyed an eight-week session of Sunday morning classes in filmmaking, thanks to a collaboration between Agence Ometz and the Segal Centre’s Academy.
The participants, aged 9 to 12, learned about video production, animation and digital editing, while developing friendships, improving their French and English language skills, and benefiting from the professional resources at the Segal’s well-equipped MediaWorkshop.
Ometz offers a range of programs and services to immigrants, and the arts are viewed as having a role in integration. The majority of its clients come from eastern Europe and South America, where arts education is highly valued and considered essential to the proper development of children.
Heeding the wishes of these families, Ometz approached the Segal’s Academy to consider creating a special multimedia arts program tailored to immigrant pre-teens in French. The children in the inaugural project have moved here within the last five years.
The Segal’s response was immediate and positive. “The Academy is here to be an educational resource in performing and media arts to the community and the children whose families are clients of Ometz. We are happy to provide the unequalled service we are known for,” said Gisèle Rucker, director of The Academy.
“Our efforts [focus] on youth because they have the best chance of integrating fully into Quebec culture and Canadian society,” said social worker Monique Lapointe, who manages immigration services at Ometz, a Federation CJA agency that encompasses the former Jewish ImmigrantAid Services.
“We want them to interact with locals and to connect them to the Jewish community, and different Jewish organizations on the [community] campus, like the Segal,” added Ometz integration worker Ekaterina Oursegova.
Harlie Dover, MediaWorkshop director, hired documentary filmmaker Esther Viragh and film animator Adriana Coluccio to teach video production to the youngsters. “We felt that it was important that the themes of their videos come from them,” he said.
Instructors nurtured the particular interests of each participant and encouraged them to create a film that tellsa story reflecting something in their past, either through stop animation using inanimate objects, or through live action with children as actors in the film.
“The result exceeded all expectations,” Rucker said.
“The youngsters created stories of their own but learned that filmmaking is a team effort requiring co-operation and they recognized the importance of asking each other for help.”
“C’est bon!” exclaimed Yourval Iourchenko, 11, whose mother tongue is Russian, as he inspected his lady bug animation. Iliya Tverie, 9, said he feels very much at home at the Segal Centre and wants to continue creating films.
The program culminated with a screening of their short films for family and friends in the Segal’s 77-seat CinemaSpace this month. The films have also been posted on the YouTube website at http://www.youtube.com/user/segalmediaworkshop.
A new session in film production starts in late January for all youngsters age 9 to 12. Ometz has now asked the Segal Centre to create an introductory acting course in French that would also serve to teach Jewish culture.
The Segal Centre’s website, www.segalcentre.org, contains information on all of The Academy’s winter courses and workshops for young performers, adults and emerging professionals.
