Young Brussels talented filmmakers present their own world through music videos, short films, and documentaries

Thirty promising video makers from Brussels presented their film talent in the Brussels-Capital Region last Saturday evening. Using nothing more than a smartphone, the young people have spent the past four months putting together short films, music videos, and documentaries. The film academy is an initiative by technology company Samsung and WAJOW (platform for Flemish youth of all backgrounds) to boost the audiovisual skills of young people.

Under the name ‘WAJOW Talent Factory’, 30 young people received coaching from well-known names in the video industry over the past five months. Content creator Average Rob, director duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, and actress Martha Da’ro, among others, shared their insights and experiences in the form of interactive workshops.  Then the young people started working on their own video projects. This translated into eight rock-solid results in different video formats. The young people clearly mastered the audiovisual techniques to tell a good story. The common thread in the projects: a look at the world of young people.

“The young people have had a very good journey. The door is open to creating beautiful things. Now they have to put their own stamp on it and show what they’re made of. Normally we also award a winner here, but we let that pass. All the young people have done such a strong job that it is too difficult to pick just one."

Mathias Soubron, WAJOW

Sensitive topics

From unrequited love to social media to mental health. No taboos and all the topics that interest today's youth. These topics are expressed in the format that is close to the hearts of young people. For some it will be in the form of music, for others in the form of a trailer. For the young people, it doesn't stop there: they will continue in the coming months to refine the projects and launch new ones.

"It was a very instructive project on many levels. On the one hand, it is very instructive to work out a project "from scratch" under the guidance of professionals. On the other hand, it was a wonderful experience to be able to work together with different cultures and in such a large group. "

Ans van Geel & Mina Nawabi, participants Wajow Talent Factory

Encouraging young people

Samsung and vzw WAJOW are using this initiative to give young people from all branches of society the chance to experiment with video content. No experience or technical knowledge is required, just a great deal of enthusiasm. This way, the initiative can unearth the audiovisual talent of tomorrow.

“Video content is omnipresent in our contemporary society. Those with audiovisual skills have a huge advantage. As a technology company, we are fully aware of this. We therefore consider it important that young people have as many opportunities as possible to develop their audiovisual talents. We are very proud of what we have seen here today. The young people have really grown through the process. We look forward to what they will create in the future.”

Sven Adams, PR Manager at Samsung