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Welcome to the TrueTube Blog. The TrueBlog? The Trog? We’ll keep working on that…
The TrueTube Blog will a be a fortnightly burst of news about upcoming films, and recommendations from our back catalogue to help with lessons, assemblies and form-times about current festivals, events and awareness days. We’ll also sneak in a few old favourites, just because we like them, and because we think you’ll like them too.
There’ll be the occasional peak behind the scenes to give you some insight into why and how the films were made, along with some ideas to help you use our films in your teaching, and the discussion points that could be raised.
We also want to hear from you! Because – cards on the table – there are times when we’ll need some help: a school to film in, some students to be on camera, and we’d love to welcome you into our community of helpers. Or it might be that you have a brilliant idea for a TrueTube film. Do get in touch. Many of our films have been made because enough of you asked for them! You can email us at: [email protected]
To kick off our new blog, we’re taking a look back at a very special film we began work on almost exactly ten years ago, called simply: Refugee.
At the time, there had been a lot of toxic headlines about illegal immigrants (sadly, some things never change), and we wanted to do something for Refugee Week to help our audience to empathise with asylum seekers, and understand some of the reasons why people left their homes and countries in search of a better life.
Back then we almost exclusively made short documentaries, so the first idea was to take a camera to Calais and do some interviews, but that was rejected as too unpredictable, too expensive and possibly even too dangerous. Then we wondered if it would be possible – whisper it – to make an actual drama? We could show scenes to represent a young refugee’s journey from their home to a country of safety, and dramatise the kind of hazards she might face. And we wouldn’t say where she came from or where she was going to, or even precisely what she was escaping, but the idea was always implicitly, “what if it happened here?”
So far, so good, but how were we going to end it? Because a happily-ever-after story wouldn’t be appropriate. Would it work if we flipped it? We could show the scenes in reverse order, starting with our young refugee in a camp, and then see how she came to be there, finishing in the family home – a home very much like yours or mine – at the end of the film. That was it!
A tiny budget was scraped together, people volunteered to help, favours were called in, location fees were haggled down, and finally, during the chilly spring of 2016, the film was shot.
None of us had made a drama before. But somehow – largely due to everyone’s good will and patience – we got through it.
The finished film was quietly uploaded to TrueTube and everyone seemed to like it. Job done. Then someone suggested that we enter it into the BAFTA Children’s Awards. Why not? Might as well. Didn’t have a chance, though.
And then we were nominated in the Drama category. It was absurd. We’d never win.
But we weren’t going to turn down the opportunity to go to a posh awards ceremony, so a gang of us from TrueTube all turned up in our best gear. We enjoyed a superb dinner, and then the nominees for Drama were announced: three different series from CBBC and a little 12-minute film called Refugee from TrueTube. We sat back and wondered which of the CBBC series would win.
“And the BAFTA goes to… Refugee!”
And we’re still proud of our little 12-minute film. Not just because it was our first drama, and not just because it won a prize (actually, it won four. Just saying); we’re proud of our film because it’s still helping to raise awareness of the dangers faced by refugees, and still helping young people to empathise with the real people behind the toxic headlines.
And teachers still tell us how useful it is in the classroom, because Refugee is a great discussion starter. Try some of these prompts…
And then it could lead into some creative writing…
Or further research…
Just last year we made a series of films called Refugee Stories, because the problems that cause people to flee their homes never go away, and refugees continue to be among the most vulnerable people on the planet.
What would you do, if the UK suddenly became a dangerous place to be? Let’s not pretend we wouldn’t also want to escape to a better place.
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