The film The Other Planet, developed by a group of 10 children in Belgium, received the USA for IOM recognition as part of the PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival on Migration, Diversity & Social Inclusion. The five-minute film tells the touching story of extraterrestrials – a mother and daughter – displaced by an attack on their Red Planet, who make their way to the Blue Planet, and their first awkward and then accepting interactions with residents.
The Other Planet film poster. Credit: Camera-etc.
“We had the chance to make a short film and we learned so many things about animation cinema and about why people sometimes have to leave their country. I think this movie is going to help us to be more open and understanding with other people,” said Binta, 11 years old.
The 6th grade students, aged 11-12 years old from Morchamps Municipal Primary School in Seraing, Liège Province, Belgium, used cut out technique to create the characters, sets and animation, developed the script, and recorded their own voices for audio.
Photos of the children working on developing The Other Planet film.
The film is produced by Camera-etc, an animation studio and creativity center from the Walloon-Brussels Community that produces art films, offering workshops to create animation shorts with the help of professionals. Camera-etc partnered with CRIPEL, the Liège Regional Centre for Integrating Persons of Immigrant Origin in Belgium, to carry out a project on the theme of racism. The Other Planet is used by CRIPEL as an awareness tool among young audiences.
“Since 1979, we have met thousands of young filmmakers during our animation workshop. Children and teenagers have a lot of ideas and we invite them to express themselves through animation. Making an animated short is a real team work with a lot of learnings, fun and creativity,” said Bastien Martin, producer from Camera-etc.
“We thank PLURAL+ and all the mentors for this recognition, it’s an honor to be part of this festival with our short films. And most of all, congratulations to the young filmmakers of The Other Planet !”
USA for IOM recognized The Other Planet for the film’s thoughtful portrayal of the situation and challenges faced by displaced people, and realizes the film’s potential for awareness raising. With congratulations to the 10 children: Adam, Berfin, Binta, Aaron, Naïla, Luca, Younes, Salif, Shanysse, Flavie, and to Delphine Hermans and Siona Vidakovic for their direction.
About PLURAL+
The primary goal of the PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival is to support the creative vision of young people and the global distribution of youth-produced media on themes related to migration, diversity, social inclusion, and the prevention of xenophobia in order to foster respect for cultural diversity. Launched in 2009, PLURAL+ is a joint initiative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with a network of more than 50 partner organizations around the globe.
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