The Best Project of 5th AJB DOC Training awarded to “The Village Is Mine”

Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival (AJB DOC), in cooperation with Al Jazeera Media Institute from Doha and Samsung, organized its third “Smartphone Documentary Film Production” training.

The three-day training is conceived in a way to assist young filmmakers, journalists and students of the Film Academy in the implementation of their ideas, all with the help of modern technology and smartphones. This year’s “Smartphone Documentary Film Production” trainer was Al Jazeera’s video journalist Faris Bajrić who applied the knowledge and skills he has so far acquired to help the participants master approaches and learn the first steps in making and producing documentary films with smartphones.

All participants, whose task was to develop their own ideas, apply what they learned and send the project to the organizers within one month, were presented with the Al Jazeera Media Institute certificates.

Among many interesting projects and good stories, project “The Village Is Mine” by Jasmin Brutus particularly stands out.

“The proposed story outlines a significant historic moment taking place in the entire region, and the individual story of the main protagonists offers a possibility to better understand dramatic changes as residents of the Western Balkans leave their towns and villages in search of a better life. The protagonists witness these changes through two generations (that of father and son) while the filmmaker and the setting provided by the very location offer rich visual expressions. “The Village Is Mine” is a story worth offering to the viewers as a reflection of the times we live in.“, organizers said.

 

Jasmin Brutus, author of this project, received a monetary prize in the amount of EUR 1,500, Samsung S22 mobile phone, awarded by Samsung and Domod as sponsors, as well as indispensable mentoring support during the production. AJB DOC Film Festival marketing director Vedad Sejfić presented the award.

Furthermore, two additional participants of the training will also have the opportunity to implement their ideas. Produced documentary films will be screened during the next edition of AJB DOC Film Festival within SmartDoc selection.