Description:
This creative and innovative project allowed 14 classes of primary school pupils to explore and present their interpretation of the First World War through the medium of animation. With the help of professional audiovisual artists, the children chose a theme from historical material sourced from an educational website. They then wrote a scenario, created the graphic characterisation of the story's characters, filmed it and, finally, created the sounds. Each class was encouraged to work with their own local history, lending a local significance to the project. The results, attractively produced in a photomontage style, are evidence of the ability of these children to project themselves into one of the darkest periods of European history and attempt to empathise with what daily life was like for the people of their region during the First World War. The films show that the children were able to understand the feelings of pain, loss, hunger, victory, happiness and freedom experienced by their characters and that they were able to successfully turn these feelings into expressive and articulate films. The project was modestly funded but has had a great impact in producing 14 films. The films are freely available online and are also available for distribution to any school who requests them, ensuring that the impact of the project reaches beyond the classes directly involved.