Scotland our new home
Scotland Our New Home is a participatory filmmaking project for young people with refugee experience who are making home in Scotland. Filmmaker Simon Bishopp and independent researcher Dr. Katja Frimberger received funding through Creative Scotlands Open Project Fund to run this 8 month project until 28th February 2019 – developing the young people’s filmmaking skills, confidence in their artistic imagination and in their right to tell their stories, in the way they want to tell them.
Morgan Petrie, Creative Industries Manager at Creative Scotland said:
“Scotland Our New Home is providing social and cultural development opportunities for young asylum seekers and refugees through filmmaking. This project will support their creative learning and help us see the world from new perspectives, this is especially important in this the Year of Young People 2018.”
Project participants will be supported to realise their ideas: of making films that can help other new arrivals and create resources for organisations committed to support children and young people with refugee experience to thrive in Scotland. Through practical, hands-on workshop activities, participants will gain an understanding of the visual vocabulary of film and the technical requirements of the film production process – all with the aim of bringing their own ideas to life on screen.
The films will be launched in February 2019, when the young people will be supported to disseminate their creations to voluntary and statutory agencies, cultural organisations and film festivals.
Scotland Our New Home is a collaboration between filmmaker Simon Bishopp, independent researcher Dr Katja Frimberger, young people from the Glasgow-based New Peers Scotland group (NYPS) & NYPS founders Lyn Ma (Clyde College), Lorraine Ward (Glasgow Social Work Department) and Vicky Burns (YPeople Children’s Charity).
meet the team
Simon Bishopp is an award-winning filmmaker and animator based in Glasgow, Scotland. He runs his video production company Showman Media creating documentaries, fundraiser videos, animations, narrative films and film-based teaching materials for charities, community projects and education bodies. Before becoming a freelance filmmaker, Simon worked as a camera operator on BBC documentaries.
He created the animation Scotland Our New Home in collaboration with the peer mentoring partnerhsip and young people with refugee experience who wanted to communicate the challenges that life in Scotland entails. The animation was award-nominated at the Glasgow Southside Film Festival and shown at youth, education and social work conferences across the UK.
In his free time, Simon makes sci-fi films: his short film Refuge competed as part of the Scottish competition at the Glasgow Short Film Festival 18 and was screened at the London Sci-Fi Film Festival.
Dr Katja Frimberger is an independent researcher based in Glasgow, continually curious to understand the values that art-making adds to people’s lives. Katja has been a producer and facilitator with Simon Bishopp since 2012, working on community film projects, charity fundraisers, documentaries and narrative shorts.
Before becoming an independent researcher, Katja was lecturer in Theatre at Brunel University London and Research Associate at the University of Glasgow, where she also gained her PhD in 2013 – with a project that explored international students’ intercultural experiences through an arts-based research pedagogy of improvisational theatre, creative writing and play.
You can access Katja’s research articles here.
Lyn Ma has been teaching for over 25 years. She currently teaches ESOL (English for Speakers of other Languages) at Glasgow Clyde College, Anniesland Campus.
She has special responsibility for co-ordinating and teaching on the 16+ESOL programme, this programme is unique in Scotland as it is specifically for young asylum seekers and refugees between the ages of 16- 19, many of whom are here alone.
Lyn really enjoys working with young people and finds their courage and resilience inspirational. She is passionate about supporting young people to have their voices heard.
Vicki Burns is the Ypeer Mentoring Coordinator with the charity Ypeople. Her role is to train and support young, care experienced people to provide mentoring to other care experienced young people.
Vicki is qualified in Community Education and has worked with children and young people in their communities for over twenty years.
Vicki most enjoys her work when she is equipping young people with the skills and knowledge to influence policy and improve their communities and this is why she enjoys working with the New Young Peers Scotland group.
Vicki has keen interests in equalities and children’s human rights.
