Over ten weeks from January to March 2025, two Primary 7 classes at Fintry Primary School in Dundee learned how about how different styles of documentary filmmaking have been used to tell the stories of children’s experiences of war.
Under the guidance of Screen Educator Sandie Jamieson and supported by class teacher Sarah Stewart, they studied the ways in which filmmakers communicate opinions and facts and influence the audience’s emotions.
The pupils then formed production teams and used their new skills to develop their own short documentaries about children in war. They wrote narration and interview questions, filmed and conducted interviews, and edited their own footage together with archive images.
Each short film shared fascinating stories along with their facts, drawing interview subjects from the local community. These included a WWII evacuee, the son of a WWII evacuee who was sent to Australia, a child soldier, the founder of charity For the Love of a Child, and the sister of one of the young filmmakers, both of whom came to Scotland from Syria via a refugee camp in Lebanon.
The pupils then shared their films at a screening event for family and friends, who were impressed by the level of professionalism and skill displayed after only ten weeks of training.
This project was supported by Screen Scotland’s Schools Screen Education Fund.