In December, the students of the secondary school № 48 in Lviv had a great opportunity to join the screenings of documentary films about human rights. Between 7 December and 16 December, we watched and discussed films together during the Travelling Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, the key theme of which was "Full Recovery." During the festival, students in grade 10 had the opportunity to watch four documentaries: Son of the Streets, Riders Not Heroes, My Other Son, and Swatted. Each of the films impressed a young audience.

Son of the Streets

During the screening of the film Son of the Streets, children learned to describe the protagonist and analyze the reasons for his behavior. During the discussion, they found out which rights of the main character and other people around Khodor were violated, and also tried to determine the reasons for those violations.

The audience was surprised that the boy could not get an education and receive medical care if necessary. During the conversation, they tried to find out how one can prove the existence with documents and why it is a challenge sometimes. The participants were also interested in the historical background of the situation Khodor faced.

Riders Not Heroes

The film Riders Not Heroes impressed the audience with its relevance. We compared the work of riders before the COVID-19 pandemic and today. During the discussion, we found out what challenges and difficulties the riders have faced.

My Other Son 

Before the screening of My Other Son, students in grade 10 tried to predict the theme of the film based on its title. The children assumed that the film would most likely be about a child who had a difficult relationship with his parents.

The film caught the audience's attention from the first scenes. After the screening, we discussed what impressed us the most, and the moments we remembered. The children shared their personal experiences of communicating with children with Down syndrome. In addition, the issue of access to education for children with disabilities in Ukraine was discussed.

Swatted

The film Swatted interested the audience with the story about people who play online games. The children were surprised that the world of online games can be very dangerous. After the screening, we talked about cyberbullying, and also wrote a memo "How to save yourself in the online system."

Text by Nataliia Dobrianska, curator of the children's programme at the secondary school № 48 in Lviv