Video essay On the edge of history

Gallery

In February and March 2023, a workshop produced by Kinoatelje and executed in cooperation with the Gorizian I. S. I. S. S. G. D'Annunzio - M. Fabiani secondary school took place as a part of the project EAST / WEST: The border in film and history, which is supported by the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. The workshop took place in four meetings during regular school hours and was attended by students of the 5th ALS class and professors Alessandra Nardon (Italian and history) and Franca La Stella (English). The meetings were led by Antonio Dagostin and Lucia Giacomazzi (film students at the University of Udine), who, together with the students, visually and historically studied parts of video material taken from Aljoša Žerjal’s "No al bilingiusmo", which is kept by Kinoatelje and was digitized by the university restoration workshop La Camera Ottica. Together they reflected on what remains today of the eastern border.

With an introduction to the selected historical period, Professor Nardon presented the students with the historical background, on the basis of which they built their research.

The first two meetings that took place in the classroom were of a more theoretical nature. Antonio and Lucia presented the characteristics and methods of propaganda in newsreels, how the structure of a video essay is composed, what are the different types of these, and above all, how the preparation of their final product will take place.

In the third and fourth meeting, the students were divided into four groups and each was assigned a single meaningful clip from Žerjal's collection, which was previously selected by the Kinoatelje team and the professors. While studying the video material, the students reflected on it and developed accompanying texts, which were created on the basis of historical research and visual analysis and were used for the voice-over in the video essay.

The students showed a high degree of maturity and commitment during class and when doing homework. They gave constructive answers to the questions asked. They were an easy group to manage and did not hesitate to ask questions or ask for further clarification.

"Our intention was to make students aware that in the area where they were born and where they are growing up, a special and unique historical period (although we can still feel its consequences) recently ended, of which they themselves are the heirs. It is very important that young people are able to recognize hidden messages in all the images that surround us on a daily basis and the meaning they carry,” say Antonio and Lucia.