Tomás Vega Roulet

Over the past few days, a lot has happened!

Following the conversation with Zoe and Paul last week, I continued my research and communication with different organisations.

And that’s when I realised that I cannot make a film about children’s experience without specifically asking what they experience. And by nature, that means that moving forward with this documentary could pose ethical and moral questions for me, as I aim to create a narrative from something that isn’t there.

Tomás Vega Roulet

Today, I made the decision not to pursue the documentary idea. This was based on various factors, but most importantly, it was based on a judgment of ethics and storytelling within the given circumstances of creating a film for university.

I had the privilege to meet again with people from the AUGB. I met the chairwoman, Hannah, who was incredibly engaging. We had a one-hour, twenty-minute conversation about everything the organisation does, about children, and many other elements. I also met another member called John, who regularly takes aid to Ukraine and was there just two weeks ago. And I also met again with my initial contact, Bogdan.

The conversations focused on expanding my research into the project, while also highlighting different avenues and stories I could explore. I also had a long discussion with Alisa (My close friend), and that’s where my decision to not continue with the documentary really stemmed from.

In my conversation with Hannah, she discussed the Saturday School and its impact on the Ukrainian community in Edinburgh. We discussed the similarities with this for the diaspora of 1947, and we explored the benefits the community centre has had on the Ukrainian community since the 1960s, when it was purchased and donated to the AUGB.

We also discussed the other centres around Edinburgh that were donated following Ukraine’s independence, as well as the history of Ukrainians in Edinburgh. There is a fascinating, rich history of Ukrainians in Edinburgh, which could lend itself to a documentary. However, my interest in children has been present since the beginning. Initially, I wanted to create a documentary documenting the abandoned schools in Ukraine due to the war. I do recognise that this would be unachievable within the context of the university and the 10 minutes. So, I wanted to create something linked to Edinburgh, something small and specific, which could develop into something bigger after university.

My most recent idea was to find a group of children and discuss a specific topic with them. For example, when I was younger, we would always write what we did over the weekend in school as an exercise. I think it would have been great to find a group of children and ask them what they did over the weekend and over the course of a couple of months. This could demonstrate the things that these incredible children get up to, which is far more than what other Scottish children of their age do. This would also bring in different themes and elements to the story.

However, through talking with Hannah, I realised that this wouldn’t be as strong a storyline. And I don’t know what these children are doing at the moment. Embarking on this exploratory journey to discover what these children do would leave me in a position of uncertainty. Maybe next year, I will sit down with these kids from January to February, interview them, and it will turn out that they don’t do what I thought they did on weekends. This would leave me in a position where I:

• A, would either have to fabricate a story, which would not be right.
• B, I would have to do different research and create a different documentary, which would be okay. Still, given the university’s timeline, this could be a significant risk. As any further research or development would mean less time to ensure the documentary is the best it can be in terms of film form and cinematic.
• Or C, create a poor quality documentary that has been put together last minute because the material or story wasn’t there in the research.

So this meant I wanted to brainstorm other ideas. Another idea I had, which came from a conversation with Hannah. So, I asked in our discussion if she noticed that the innocence and joy of the children coming from Ukraine were affected by everything they had been through. One of the significant points she mentioned, which I also found interesting, was that after the ship housing 1,200 families in Leith Docks was relocated, it felt like a second separation for all the Ukrainians in Edinburgh. Firstly, they had the separation from Ukraine to other countries, then from different countries to Edinburgh, and then within Edinburgh, they had another separation.

And that impacted everyone’s mental health. She also mentioned that when the children first arrived, she noticed that all their drawings or art were very dark. Often, the picture of a house wasn’t as bright as a Scottish student would make it. And the father figure would always be off to the side, outside the home, wearing an army uniform, for example. I found this point extremely fascinating. It would have been great to potentially gain this archival artwork and record it. And ask the child to draw more, and see where that leads. And that was the idea that Hannah and I finished our conversation with: potentially developing the research, with me attending some of the Saturday schools and seeing where this idea ended up.

I then spoke with Alisa, and she made me realise some excellent points.

First is how I’m not Ukrainian; I’m unaware of specific social and cultural norms. As a filmmaker, I am aware of this and still question my relationship to the story and how it will be addressed in the documentary. That’s something that I’ve been thinking about the entire time. However, I still felt that I could make a documentary, even if I didn’t have a direct relationship to the story. Being born in Brazil and growing up in the UK, I have had experience with having a foot in both worlds, which Hannah and Bogdan both related to my experiences and said is somewhat similar.

However, going back to the children’s painting idea, one of the big nos for this documentary proposal was asking the children any questions about war or their experience in Ukraine. I cannot ask them how they’re doing or anything related to emotions. I wanted to solely focus on education. And that’s another thing that was made very clear with Hannah and Bogdan.

However, through talking with Alisa, she said that if I were to record these children’s paintings and they could be normal paintings for the child, then any inferences I make as a filmmaker would mean I’m putting words into that child’s mouth. This is something we both came to the conclusion of through discussion. And that’s when I realised that I cannot make a film about children’s experience without specifically asking what they experience. And by nature, that means that moving forward with this documentary could pose ethical and moral questions for me, as I aim to create a narrative from something that isn’t there.

Obviously, within documentaries, sometimes what you set out to discover isn’t what actually happens. But when that happens, you usually have time to rework the story and do more research and go down other routes. However, as I explained before, within the time scale, I don’t think that would be possible. And it would leave me in a precarious position.

Another thing that came out of my research was a conversation with John. When he came over, he briefly introduced himself to me. And he asked me what I was doing. When I said I wanted to make a documentary about Ukrainian children in the UK, he interrupted me quite forcefully. He asked me if I knew what Ukrainian children actually experienced. He then informed me that Ukrainian children in the UK experience education very differently from Ukrainian children in Ukraine.

And he went on to explain to me how Ukrainian children are living their lives still in the country. But the real takeaway from my conversation with him was Why am I focusing on Ukrainian children in the UK, rather than Ukrainian children in Ukraine? And that goes back to what I wanted to make my documentary about in the first place.

My documentary was about Ukrainian children in Ukraine. So, that leads me to why I want to make a film about Ukrainian children in the UK.

One of the arguments or thoughts was about how they only had a limited amount of time here in Scotland before they would have to be forced back. However, through talking with Hannah, it turns out that the government have semi-announced an additional 18 months to the 18 months they have announced. And they are willing to extend that if needed. This is something that has changed since my first proposal and something that hasn’t been directly announced, but Hannah mentioned that she has heard from specific sources. All of this is what led me to make that decision with Alisa.

Although there are many stories within this context and world which could be made into a documentary. I wanted to create a cinematic documentary that utilises film form to convey meaning. It had to be something small and specific. Although I could go looking for that, the uncertainty of not discovering it means it’s best to reevaluate the purpose of this documentary, instead of making one in the education here in the UK. The organisation deserves more attention as what they do is incredible. I plan to continue my network with them to create something post-university.