Searching Traces – Malta

In cooperation with the Sustainbale Design Collective, African Media Association Malta, Foundation for Shelter and Support to Migrants, Sudanese Migration Association, and RIMA the association diyalog is organizing a video workshop series for third country nationals and native communities in Malta.

The first workshop will took place between the 16th and 24th of March. A second workshop will follow in May.

Watch the results of the workshop at the channel: Video Workshop in Malta


The participants will learn to use the narration-style of video-filmmaking with smart phones and simple video devices to express personal experiences, visions and their aspirations regarding community life in short movies of approximately one to five Minutes in One Single Take.

A single-take or one-take occurs when the entire scene is shot satisfactorily the first time, whether by necessity (as with certain expensive special effects) or by luck. The most fun you’ll ever have making a movie.

In May, we will meet the participants of the first workshop and additional newcomers (up to 20) in Malta again for the second personal workshop.  In 18 hours we do a basic introduction to the larger group again and teach the former participants some advanced techniques. The advanced group’s participants are invited to attend the workshop for the newcomers as assistant instructors and to coach them producing their first films together with us. As a result of the second workshop unite we will have the Videos of the beginners and some additional works by the advanced.

Goals: After one week of workshop the advanced participants from the first workshop will continue to work with the newcomers in weekly meetings for 2 to 3 hours and guide the whole group to create their own short video coached and technical supported by us over the Internet. We will do Online support-sessions to work together on films. The goal will be to have a set of short films to be screened during the Mahalla Festival in November 2018.

The participation is free of charge.


Mahalla Festival

The workshop program is part of a strategy to develop and support cultural productions for peace building, inclusion and diversity in Europe.

A final screening in fall 2018 will present selected results to the local communities accompanied by discussions with the participants of the workshops and experienced filmmaker, stakeholders and the hosting community of Malta.

The workshop will be as well part of the Mahalla festival taking place in Malta in fall 2018 organized by the Foundation DIYALOG Malta (Maltese foundation in founding). The festival will be dedicated to migration, exile and cultural identity and will be a startup-event for cultural initiatives, stakeholders, cultural mediators and artist to exchange their experiences in this field, to help creatives with migration background to settle in the host communities and to develop a new narration on the creative potential and intercultural chances of migration and mobility in different media (film/video, literature, architecture, fine arts and theater).


The Conductors

Sabine Küper-Büsch and Thomas Büsch are cross-media journalists, film-makers and experts in web-content management. Both are based in Istanbul, Turkey. Together they are directing features and documentaries in the field of culture and society mostly for German speaking TV channels from the region of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and the Mediterranean Sea. Their teaching fields include classical journalistic forms, short film, documentary and creative multimedia tools.

Since more than 10 years both authors conducted many video workshops in Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq and Germany, enabling people with different backgrounds to express their experiences, visions and feelings in a creative film narration: StreetWalking


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