FOUR WHEELS AND A VIDEO CAMERA TO CROSS THE BRIDGE
by: LA MUSICA UN PONTE TRA I POPOLI | EXPIRES 17/07/2021 | Type of collection: O tutto o niente!
Since 2013, the project "La Musica un Ponte tra i Popoli" (Music, a bridge between People) has been bringing young people of different cultures, religions and countries to Forli and enabling them to engage in a dialogue using the universal language of music. This year we want to jump in a van and create a documentary of the road trip through the countries involved in this project, as we witness the changes that have come about in the lives of these young people, to those of their families and to their schools. The departure point will be the Balkans, where it all began, witnessing a unique process of building peace and dialogue between the young generations of countries which history calls “European”, giving an original perspective to the project. To be able to do this, we need four wheels and a video camera! Please help us to Cross the Bridge! GIVE GENEROUSLY!
QUATTRO RUOTE E UNA TELECAMERA PER ATTRAVERSARE IL PONTE - FOUR WHEELS AND A VIDEO CAMERA TO CROSS THE BRIDGE – The fundraiser campaign by "La Musica un Ponte tra i Popoli".
The “La musica: un ponte tra i popoli” project began in 2013 with the aim of offering young European musicians the possibility of having a concrete experience of coexistence and dialogue between different cultures, through the medium of music. For the last eight years we have organized a summer class of classical and Balkan music, with the aim of creating the "Giovane orchestra paneuropea", which performs within the “Festival della musica giovane del Mediterraneo”, in Forlì.

In the most recent editions, thanks to substantial and increasing effort , we achieved the considerable average number of 5 concerts per season in the territory, involving around 50 young people from 11 countries (Slovenia, Bosnia-Erzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Romenia, Greece, Spain, Italy) with different languages, cultures and religions. Forlì has remained the central location of this project, hosting the preparation of the orchestra and its main performances at the Festival but, for several editions, the first summer meeting took place at Prizren, in Kosovo, which is one of the project’s other cornerstones. Numerous other interesting collaborations are in the phase of being set up.
It all began thanks to our interest in the conflicts in the Balkan region; observing that reality from not so far away, we asked ourselves what we could contribute in order to encourage a dialogue between those countries’ younger generations and, at the same time, put Italy in contact with those “distant” countries and their situations, with their history and cultures.
In 2013 the first student exchange took place, between the “ Angelo Masini” School in Forlì and the Lorenz Antonji School in Prizren (Kosovo), the embryo of this dialogue bridge, which confirmed music’s intuition as a vehicle to reconnect to recent history and as an instrument to bring back the possibility of balance and dialogue from the grassroots level between the “distant” human differences of culture, politics and religion.

The call has been unavoidable and in these 8 years we have accompanied this dialogue, expanding the project and trying to capture the enthusiasm shown by these generations as best as we can. This organizational effort has brought progress and results over the years which have excited everybody and each year we have seen, with wonder, the renewal and creation of friendships between the young people who take part.
What remains? What has changed? What can still be done? These are the questions that prompt us to get into a van and document the places, the schools and, most of all, the people who have made this project a unique experience of the intercultural dialogue kind.
We want to enlarge the community, get to know it better and eliminate some of the distances, and strengthen greater still the international character of this project, beginning with those who are the nearest.
We want to get you involved, unite our questions with yours and, most of all, join forces.

At eight years on from the conception of this project, we want to equip ourselves with video cameras, microphones and revisit the stopovers and document the progress that has been made. We will need an equipped van, in some cases a plane flight, expert documentary makers and the time necessary to record the statements of the participants, the voices and tales of their families, the road that passes by and the music schools where all of this began.
For this reason, we have decided to open a crowdfunding campaign, open to everyone who would like to contribute. We want to make you become a part of this challenge and create the documentary together with you.
Every donation is essential! 40 days in which to collect 5,000 euros and begin this journey.
Thanks to your contribution we will have the energy to set off and keep going during the trip: by donating you will have the chance to receive exclusive rewards and to be amongst the first to view the completed documentary.
Please help us by donating to us four wheels and a video camera to cross the Bridge!
Timeline:
July 2021: research and interviews in Forlì and in Slovenia, in conjunction with the summer class and concerts by the “Giovane orchestra paneuropea”.
August 2021 : a van of documentary makers and volunteers will head to the Balkan region, to collect images and statements around the areas of Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia.
December 2021 - March 2022: Editing, production and launch of the documentary.