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I Traveled To Belfast To Meet With Leading Artists Who Work With The Community To Create A Positive Social Impact, And This Is What I Discovered.

Twenty years after the peace agreement that ended hostilities in Northern Ireland, I traveled to Belfast to meet with leading activist creatives, to learn about the struggles of a society still grappling with its bloody history and the importance of art in fostering peace and social cohesion.

The film is available on YouTube – 19 minutes watch time.

The short documentary ARTOPIA #Belfast begins with my attempt to understand the Northern Ireland conflict, a.k.a. “The Troubles.” This inquiry takes us into the characters’ childhood stories from a city divided by peace walls and surrounded by military checkpoints.

As their personal stories unfold, the characters share their activist art initiatives, all driven by a commitment to Belfast’s pluralistic and tolerant society. The creative initiatives include art and graffiti festivals (HIT THE NORTH BELFAST, CULTURE NIGHT BELFAST); carnivals in conflict neighborhoods (BEAT CARNIVAL); a contemporary dance piece that dramatizes post-conflict issues (HARD TO BE SOFT – A BELFAST PRAYER); feminist illustrations protesting the violation of women’s reproductive rights and LGBT struggles for equality; the BELFAST DESIGN WEEK initiative to create a thriving local design community with job opportunities; and a series of portraits of people who’ve suffered a loss on both sides of the conflict (SILENT TESTIMONY), meant to create a platform for reconciliation.

As we discover the characters’ passionate drive to help their fellow citizens, we come to see how genuinely transformative art can be in affording us opportunities to engage with critical issues through extraordinary experiences.

The film concludes with a look to Northern Ireland’s future, now clouded with the uncertainty of Brexit: the fear that closing the border between North and South might incite new violence, against the hope that people will abide by peace, however fragile.

* Official selection for DOCAVIV International Film Festival 2020 *

Participants:

ADAM TURKINGTON, COLIN DAVIDSON, DAVID BOYD, FIONA MCDONNELL, KARISHMA KUSURKAR, OONA DOHERTY

Credits:

More info: youtube.com

ARTOPIA #Belfast | A short documentary by Shachaf Dekel

I’m a filmmaker and storyteller. I believe human stories and quality filmmaking are a way to create impact, engage with one another, break down culture barriers, and promote empathy. I’m an ardent fan of short-form documentaries. To me, social media can be much more than consumerism and vlogs. I use the power of YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to get art, culture, and meaningful content to viewers worldwide. My alternative culture channel on YouTube features high-quality content about art in Israel and beyond, and more recently about philosophy, psychology, and history. My web series YOTSRIM includes 74 episodes, each visiting the studio of a different independent creator in Israel. The series won an award for Best Documentary at NYC Web Fest 2019, and was screened at festivals around the world. My recent short documentary, ARTOPIA #Belfast, is about activist creators in Belfast. It was selected for screening at the Docaviv festival. My current web series, HAGUT, is an attempt to address social and political issues in Israel, through scholars and philosophers who share their views on my YouTube channel. I love taking part in master classes on web docs, and speaking about the importance of creating space for culture online. I also give lectures on Israel’s contemporary art & design scene, incorporating examples from my web series Yotsrim.

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My name is Aelita and I have been an Editor for Bored Panda since 2019. I spend my days working with my amazing team and making articles the best they can be. Fantasy and magic have always ruled over my world, from movies to TV shows, to Video Games to tabletop games like Dungeos and Dragons, I try to find magic in every part of my life. Writing is a big part of me too, I hope to publish a fantasy novel one day. I also enjoy playing guitar and singing, as music always help me to get in a great mood. I have an adorable German Shepherd named Hela and we get into all kinds of adventures together.

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I Traveled To Belfast To Meet With Leading Artists Who Work With The Community To Create A Positive Social Impact, And This Is What I Discovered.

ARTOPIA #Belfast | A short documentary by Shachaf Dekel

ARTOPIA #Belfast | A short documentary by Shachaf Dekel

ARTOPIA #Belfast | A short documentary by Shachaf Dekel

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