These powerful short films were created with young people. Valerie Dunn, who is a Research Associate in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, led the project.
The first animation film called ‘My name is Joe’ is about entering care and depicts the worries and anxieties young people can face e.g. visits with family, school life and views about foster care. The success of this film has resulted in the film now being used by BAAF as part of the formal skills to foster training throughout England.
The second film ‘Finding My Way’ was made with a group of care leavers and explores the issues involved in leaving care. This again looks at the emotional difficulties young people may face at a time of transition, their hopes and fears for their future. This film won the 2014 British Future film festival in London Southbank for the young documentary category – beating 400 other entries.
The final film in the trilogy is ‘Our house’ . It depicts the experiences of young people living in care with the theme of the film focusing on choice about types of care and views about residential care as a positive choice. The film challenges some of the negative stereotypes and perceptions of residential care.
The success of the film’s was highlighted in Cambridgeshire’s 2014 Ofsted report:
“This work provides invaluable resources and information for children, young people and social workers nationally to help understand the experience of a child’s journey through the care of a local authority.”
Read more about the project here: Animated film made by young care leavers win best documentary prize at the BFI Future Film Awards
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