Re-Future: Workshop teaches young migrants to tell stories with smartphones

The Re-Future project, launched by Dugong Films and Accoglierete, offers a workshop in Syracuse, Italy, where 20 young migrants learn image education and filmmaking using smartphones as an expressive medium. Led by Andrea Caccia, a director and communication professor at IULM Milan, the workshop began in March 2017 at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Siracusa and will conclude in December 2017. Participants learn storytelling techniques through collective analysis of their footage and comparisons with cinema history. Their videos will be compiled into a documentary distributed across platforms. The initiative aims to foster inclusion by giving migrants a voice, overcoming linguistic and cultural barriers, and providing skills for future employment. Participants like Omar (15, from Gambia), Ahmed (17, from Egypt), and Said (aspiring chef) film their daily lives and dreams. Iolanda Genovese of Accoglierete emphasizes that self-expression is key to integration, noting the appeal of non-verbal communication for recent arrivals.