THESE STORIES DESERVE TO BE TOLD…
WHAT IS AS YOU OPEN YOUR EYES ALL ABOUT?
The Constellation and Visual Development have jointly developed a film project to be produced during the next two years. The aim is to produce a series of six short films presenting different stories of community change. We believe that by shining a light on these communities we will inspire others to take action to improve their situations. Also, we want to persuade policy makers and commodity providers to support community responses.
Each one of these communities has a compelling story to tell. They are spread around the world, and the challenges they face are as diverse as their cultures, societies and economies. Each episode in the series tells one of these stories, including the essence of the different stages, emotions, difficulties and creative solutions encountered along the way. Our aim is to document the complete story of change within each community—with both the beautiful and painful aspects that are inherent to community change and human interaction.
HELP US BRING THESE STORIES TO EVERYONE…
The Constellation began its work in 2004. For more than a decade we have worked with communities and organizations throughout the world so that they become aware of their capacity to deal with their challenges and to pursue their common dream. In this process we have learnt a lot from them and it is our intention to continue to accompany them.
However, now that we have collected many positive experiences and outcomes, we recognize that we will not reach a world in which communities take action based on their strengths to achieve their shared dream by creating more and more partnerships. We feel the time has come to inspire others to use this approach for themselves and to explore the possibilities they have at hand.
We believe film is the best tool available to illustrate the richness inherent in the change process within a community. These are exciting times for creatively linking social programs with the power of visual communication. Images are ubiquitous and the public understanding and reading of these images is increasingly sophisticated. Visual arguments are often both more accessible and more compelling than written, academic-style texts. We want to use the power of storytelling through film to give very quickly a nuanced sense of the context in which our communities are flourishing.
Our aim with this proposal is to raise funds to produce a series of short films so that other communities (but also decision makers and individual human beings) can feel invited to initiate a similar journey and start applying this human, innovative and appreciative methodology to their specific realities. Our aim is that these films will contribute to creating a world where more and more communities will feel safe and equipped to take ownership of their challenges. Also we hope that leaders and decision-makers around the world start to recognize that solutions are in fact emerging communities themselves.
Finally, the act of documenting our story will also help the participating communities to be more conscious of the depth of their experience of the process as they learn and adapt. As we invite community members into the story line, they will realize that they are part of an important story, which will, in turn, motivate their positive action even more.
