CREATIVE young people from across North Ayrshire have teamed up with friends in the New Scots community to make a film.
The short film, called Different Ways, follows lead character Stepan, who is new to Scotland and takes a journey through our beautiful countryside and comes across different characters along the way.
Things don’t quite go to plan for Stepan, played by Ukrainian Oleksandr Chmut, as he makes his way to a university open day and he is forced to change plans, take a different path on his travels and interact with people he would not normally engage with.
Various issues that are experienced by New Scots – and, indeed anyone moving to a new country – are reflected on in Stepan’s story.
Chmut explained: “I was involved in various parts of the filmmaking and gained a huge amount of experience. Stepan is a shy and introverted person who finds himself having to work with other people who have different perspectives on life.
“When people watch the film, I hope they find out more about the characters – and themselves.”
The project is a collaboration between the Council, The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT) and Vertex Visions, which is an organisation run by volunteers who work to strengthen community engagement and promote cultural activity.
Vertex Visions, based in West Kilbride, arranges and promotes activities including arts events, talks, exhibitions and workshops with support from organisations including the council.
Councillor Alan Hill, cabinet member for communities and islands, said: “It is great to see talented young people from North Ayrshire working with young New Scots to make this film.
“They have put a lot of time and effort into it, and they should be very proud of the end result. I wish them well with the film and look forward to seeing what they create next.”
The movie was filmed in parts of North Ayrshire and other locations in Scotland and was directed by Max McGregor and also stars Lana Shvorak, Maddie McGregor, Nell McGregor, Rana Tatar and Daniel Kerr.
It was written by Max McGregor, Chmut, Shvorak, Tatar, Joseph McIntosh, Archie Nelson, Rawan Idlebi, Layla Russell and Lucy Russell, who is a locality link worker with the New Scots team.
Valuable contributions to the project were also made by Artem Mosiichuk, Anton Mukovoz, Sofia Medvedchuk, Mariana Al Shrayteh, Mariam Bandakji and Shiraz Al Dieri.
You can watch the trailer for Different Ways here and the full film will be released online in the coming weeks – follow the Council’s social media channels for updates.
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