A testimonial about “Our Story” a Youth Exchange project in Portugal on movies and European cinematography.

Ten nights by the ocean – this is what we had signed up for in the first place. It seemed more than enough, yet it just passed in a wink. We are already home, kind of weirdly back in our everyday lives, still wondering about those eleven days. You become nostalgic in no time, and even though it has only just happened, one has to rub his temple to remember the details of the project. So I won’t bother, because this is not a paper about your vacation that you give in at school. But finding the exact words to describe the sensation in such project can make you feel that you are in deep water.

The first few days went by getting to know each other and breaking the ice. 61 persons from Slovakia, Serbia, Hungary and Portugal had to memorize the difficult, unknown names and I could tell that many of us weren’t accustomed to the daily usage of English, nonetheless we all tried to become closer to one another. Soon enough the games and time made relations develop and each of us felt included, and the clicks and the small groups of friends were expanding each day.

Watching different movies from each of the participant countries, then working in mixed groups on our own short films really made you wonder if we are that different. That’s what’s good about cinema: feelings, sense of humor and a good story can be expressed across countries without language barriers. A good laugh is a good laugh everywhere – and the same goes to feeling emotional or happy, too.

The first short movie we filmed had to include toilet papers. This is the moment when you realize that everything indeed is possible – as long as it stays on the screen. Appreciating each other’s ideas pull you closer through the process and if you put effort in it, you can actually create something universal. When you see the big group laugh together or burst in ‘awww’ during a scene, you know you got it right. This gave us enough confidence to lead us to the final short movie we were supposed to make.

After listening to experts’ helpful lectures, we felt that we only have one choice: to make a great short film while having fun. But who’s going to be the actor/actress? Who is supposed to write the script and which one us is going to hold the camera? Who is to decide whether we pulled off the dialogue or not? In our group we barely dared to shout out loud: Action! and Cut!, as we knew that we weren’t big shot directors from Hollywood.

We were not qualified filmmakers, but that wasn’t really the point. Understanding and paying attention to each other was our key of success, that led us through the steps of this fantastic process. Debates and discussions shaped our story, and helped to take the creative thoughts out of our heads. First on paper, then on the screen. And these little stories will stay within us, in our own cinema that’s going on in our heads, watching the memories projected – sometimes only for a quick minute, sometimes longer.

And through the course of the years, when memories fade and you no longer hold contact with your friends, and it gets harder to play that movie in your head, you might just open up your laptop and watch the short movie you made together, and as the memories, smiles and hugs fill up the screen of your memories, you’ll remember: this was our story!

A big thanks for everyone who took part in the project.