COMMUNITY TV
New space on VIEWdigital website for voices from marginalised communities
Anew space within the VIEWdigital website to ‘broadcast’ cocreated, factual audio-visual stories from people from marginalised backgrounds has been set up with support from Future Screens NI.
The short films highlight issues that are not often seen or heard within the media. The new digital space provides an opportunity for people who are underrepresented in the media to draw attention to important issues.
Project lead Una Murphy said: “This is an opportunity for migrant women and disabled people, who are underrepresented within the media industry, to get involved in audio-visual factual media production on social issues, in collaboration with Belfast-based VIEWdigital, an independent community media organisation. Their co-created stories, which are not often seen or heard within the media, are produced, published and reach a wide audience of people interested in social affairs through a new channel on the VIEWdigital website.
“People from marginalised
Community TV channel supported by Future Screens NI
backgrounds who are interested in a media career can create portfolios to show editors in broadcasting organisations and other media outlets, enabling them to gain work experience that can lead to job opportunities in Northern Ireland’s media industry. It is also an opportunity for them to raise awareness of important stories and to work with professional media practitioners to develop and produce short factual films.”
Una is grateful to academic staff in Media and Broadcast Production at Queen’s University Belfast, including Dr Gizem Malek and Mr Frank Delaney, who have supported the project.
This innovative initiative to deliver short factual films aligns with VIEWdigital’s mission as a social enterprise and community interest company specialising in social affairs, amplifying civic stories while championing inclusivity, diversity and community resilience.
‘Community TV’ embodies editorial independence and ethical storytelling, and will be of interest to
Community films: Una Murphy, left, with Jessi Lovely, Marisa Comeau-Kerege, Abeer Musawaei, Nandi Jola, Dr Gizem Melek, and Niamh Campbell at a screening of VIEWdigital films at the Sonic Centre, Queen’s University, Belfast
those who read VIEW magazine and stories on the VIEWdigital.org website, with the potential to increase the existing audience. It uses creative technologies to deliver short factual films on social issues.
Participatory filmmaking to co-create short films with migrant women, in order to avoid misrepresentation, has involved pre-production discussions with an informal group of people knowledgeable about issues affecting migrant women in Northern Ireland, as well as hiring a production crew of migrant women to record interviews and carry out general filming once the issue had been agreed with the interviewee.
Among the issues highlighted are the difficulties faced by migrant women with limited English when seeking medical help, from routine GP appointments to requesting assistance in an emergency.
Abeer Musawaei from Yemen and Marisa Comeau-Kerege from the USA conducted and filmed interviews in Warrenpoint, Co Down, with Aisha Bakkar, who is from Syria, and lawyer Sarah Henry. Marisa, a Master’s graduate in Media and Broadcast Production from Queen’s University Belfast, is the producer of the series of films ‘Migrant Women Seen & Heard’, which have been screened at the Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC) at
Queen’s University Belfast and at Belfast’s Beanbag Cinema.
Other short films co-created with migrant women in Northern Ireland also feature in the ‘Migrant Women Seen & Heard’ series, including work by Jessi Lovely (Dominican Republic/Northern Ireland) and Nandi Jola (South Africa). These short films highlight the role of women of colour in the creative industries and the campaign to repatriate colonial artefacts to Africa.
In another short film on the Community TV channel, disability activist Dermot Devlin from Omagh, Co Tyrone, has co-created a short film highlighting his transport challenges as a wheelchair user.
Paid subscribers to VIEWdigital will have the opportunity to have a ‘first viewing’ of the Community TV short films. VIEWdigital is currently progressing from research and development of this initiative to seeking further funding for the new Community TV channel in order to co-create and ‘broadcast’ more video stories by people from marginalised backgrounds.
• Anyone interested in sponsoring or finding out more about the project should get in touch with Una Murphy at unamurphy@viewdigital.org.
COMMUNITY TV
Nandi Jola’s fight to repatriate colonial artefacts
Syrian women go without medical help due to lack of female translators
Dermot Devlin: A disability campaigner taking on everyday obstacles
