As part of our Digital Media Academy, led and supported by Belgrade’s Digital Producer, Simone Herbert, participants are tasked with writing, directing, filming, and editing their own short films and podcasts.
These are the results…
Before the World by MA Rahman
Synopsis:
Before the World is a poetic short film that reimagines heroism through the quiet power of Motherhood. Through symbolic imagery and reflective narration, the film explores the, sometimes unseen, physical and emotional transformation a Mother endures before a child is born.
It reveals that long before we enter the world, someone has already carried us through sacrifice, strength, and love.
Manifesto by Judea Jess
Synopsis:
“A manifesto for the unsoftened voice & lessons learned about female penship without permission” – A coming of age reflection on discovering Andrea Dunbar’s fearless voice and learning that truth on the page can be powerful, uncomfortable, unpretty and deeply liberating.
*Penship (noun): The practice of writing with ownership, where the mind and the pen collaborate to tell truth without permission, the act of asserting voice and truth through writing together in mutual authorship.
This spoken word recording reflects on discovering Andrea Dunbar’s writing as a teenager and the impact it had on my creative coming of age. It explores how her uncompromising honesty revealed the power of raw, working-class female voices and gave me permission to write truthfully. The piece considers how that influence continues to encourage new voices to claim their own penship.
The Three Spires Podcast by Hasina Begum, Judea Jess & Kaira-Lily Jerzyszek-Marren
Synopsis:
In this visual podcast, the Three Spires discuss female empowerment and the inspirational female figures in their lives. Sharing raw and honest personal experiences, they delve into what womanhood means, and how their cultural backgrounds have shaped who they are. Three women. Three worlds. One conversation.
The Ideal Woman by Enyo Idachaba
Synopsis:
In a world defined by inequality, women fight to reclaim their voices and sense of self while confronting the societal system designed to silence them.
The Hero Within by Gifty Theresa Masaki
Synopsis:
There’s a tale of a hidden hero that’s not always retold. Women of colour tend to save everybody but struggle to save themselves. It’s time to illuminate this issue, release them of this responsibility. It’s time for them to be free too. Or will they remain the hidden hero?
Last Breath by Judea Jess
Synopsis:
Set in a modest family home, Last Breath follows Annette, a West Indian woman in the final stages of dementia who experiences a moment of clarity before passing. Through a deeply personal monologue, she reflects on migration, motherhood, community, sacrifice and the enduring strength passed down through generations of West Indian women. This monologue explores memory, ancestry, and the quiet heroic legacy that shapes family history carried by those who came before. Logline: As life nears its end, a West Indian matriarch reflects with brutal honesty on her life, her children and the infinite bond of generation and heritage.
L’dor V’dor by Ashley Hayward
Synopsis:
A journey across generations: the story of one family explored through poetry.
Fallen by Abi Grizzle
Synopsis:
Three years since their brother’s life was taken by those he called friends. Three years since Violet and TJ’s mother’s mind found its edge and threw itself off. Three years since eldest sister, Violet, became the mother of the house. Everyone has either been placed on a pedestal, or has put someone else on one. When expectations hit their peak, who survives the fall? If someone worshipped a version of you that never existed, did you even exist to them at all?
Find out more about our Digital Media Academy here.