EPYC Blog - YOUR SPACE
About the Blog
The EPYC Blog - YOUR SPACE
The EPYC Blog is a space where all the young participants and friends of Giffoni Macedonia Youth Film Festival can share their thoughts and ideas about the incredible power that art and movies have for spreading messages of peace. You are all invited to send your own contribition to the blog, It can be an essay (700-1200 words), a movie review (500-1000 words), an article on science papers or projects about peace-building art, an artwork of any kind (painting, drowing, photography, poetry, music etc).
Petra Vatavuk – The key to happiness
Nowadays people, especially children suffer from depression, anxiety or from something completely different. My solution may sound strange now, but I think movies are the best way for children to get through their difficult phase.. You might be wondering why? Just keep reading and maybe you’il agree with me.
September 12, 2023
Bisera Gjurovska: You start with a story – Part 3
Thie last part of the blog post series is dedicated to editing. This topic is likely to be less familiar to young people, who might have some knowledge of acting, music or camera work, but have not been faced with editing in their day to day lives. The post also shares some information and links to editing software and other useful how-to resorces.
August 9, 2023
Bisera Gjurovska: You start with a story – Part 2
All film projects require several different roles, such as writer, director, producer, actors, cameramen, video editors, sound and light technicians. You may also be able to afford make-up and costume designers, lighting and recording specialists, special effects and many more.
This blog post focuses on the essential roles in low-budget films.
August 8, 2023
Bisera Gjurovska: You start with a story – Part 1
Filmmaking takes a lot of time, and it shouldn't just be based on an idea, but on the development of that idea, on a story. You should start with a story. This is the first advise that we can collect from this blog post and from the first part of the interview with Leona. Read the rest of it for useful hints for young filmmakers and beginners.
August 7, 2023
Bisera Gjurovska: You start with a story – Intro
In 2021 Bisera Gjurovska interviewed Leona Jarikj, at the time an up-and-coming young Macedonian filmmaker, as well as the rest of the crew engaged in one of the first Leona’s short films, called “Jinx.”
This Blog post and the three posts following this intro, are all about how to make your first film, according to a young filmmaker.
August 7, 2023
Live Aid & USA for Africa – Unleashing young minds through the power of music
Music has long been recognized as a powerful medium for expression, capable of transcending cultural and language barriers. This blog post gets into how the Band Aid the USA for Africa inspired and mobilized countless young hearts and minds, using music to effect meaningful change.
July 4, 2023
Bojana Nikolovska – Solaris by Andrej Tarkovskij
Tarkovsky is one of the best movie directors of all time. He is famous for his masterpieces like Mirror, Solaris, Stalker, The Sacrifice and others.
This blog post is about Solaris, a science fiction movie based on a novel by Stanislaw Lem. It explores the nature of humanity and our relationship with the unknown, throu the story of the psycologist Kris Kelvin.
June 25, 2023
Mila Cvetkova – “People”- acrylic on paper, 30×40 cm
Just like these colors are mixing with each other while still remaining vivid and original, so do people.
People are like colors: everyone shines in their own way even though we mix and interact with others.
We аre all the same in our own unique ways, so let's appreciate what each of these individual colors does for the painting as a whole.
June 18, 2023
Teodora Daskalovski – Princess Mononoke
Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997 animated movie Princess Mononoke is an epic saga, a fantasy adventure that revolves around the relationship between the humans and the nature. This beautiful animated movie conveys topics of climate change and the reality of humans’ influence on nature as well as the blurred line between life and death.
June 11, 2023
Petra Vatavuk – The power of films
Films have a remarkable influence on the way we perceive the world. By presenting narratives and characters that resonate with us, films can shape our beliefs, values, and attitudes. They offer a mirror through which we can reflect on our own lives and society as a whole. Films have the potential to inspire audiences and motivate them to take action.
June 8, 2023
Anja Jovanovikj – Тhe transformative power of art in peacebuilding
Art holds a sufficient amount of power and many concepts can be expressed through different kinds of art.
Art has the ability to inspire, provoke, and transform others, which is why peacebuilding is such a common theme in art, with the goal to open people’s eyes, talk about problems and how to solve them.
June 4, 2023
Bisera Gjurovska – Review of a scientific paper on film as a peace factor
A study conducted by Fariha Asif and Jagmohan Sangha finds that the movie industry could have a very big impact in peacebuilding, as films are capable of communicating ideas and theories, showcasing examples of injustice, oppression and violence, while providing solutions to these problems.
May 29, 2023
Sofija Matovska – Peacebuilding and Influencing youth through art forms
Peacebuilding is the process of creating and sustaining peaceful relationships between individuals, groups, and communities. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in using film as a tool for peacebuilding and engaging young people in conversations about conflict resolution.
May 22, 2023
Mihail Mirchevski – Review of “Seven years in Tibet”
In the wake of recent events like the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, various civil wars and natural disasters, as well as tensions between the US and China, there has been more than ever a need for the arts, including cinema, to address the topic of peace – its importance, and its vitality to providing stability to the hectic world of the 21st century.
May 15, 2023
Mia Nikolovska: The art of listening
Listening is a way of understanding the art behind the spoken words, it’s not just the act of hearing those words. The art of listening is creating an environment in which the other person feels understood. People don’t want you to hear the word, they want you to feel it completely. People want to feel heard, they want to feel seen, they want to feel understood.
May 8, 2023
Bojana Nikolovska – From art to peace: Banksy
Through his well-known sharp irony, Banksy successfully communicates messages of peace, anti-racism and anti-capitalism.
He is a “breath of fresh air” in a scene that does not give the right weight to peace-building art. Let's take a look at two of his most famous murals, the "Flower thrower" and "Soldiers painting peace".
May 2, 2023
Sofija Matovska – Review of “My So-Called Enemy”
My So-Called Enemy is a powerful documentary that follows the lives of six young women from Israel and Palestine as they attend a leadership program in the United States.The film is a poignant exploration of the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the human stories that are often overlooked in the media.
April 24, 2023
Stefan Mitikj – The healing power of art
In the wake of recent events like the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, various civil wars and natural disasters, as well as tensions between the US and China, there has been more than ever a need for the arts, including cinema, to address the topic of peace – its importance, and its vitality to providing stability to the hectic world of the 21st century.
April 17, 2023