Woven Threads - Series 1: Stories from Afar (1-Year Rental)

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Woven Threads – Stories From Afar is a collection of eight animated short films presenting varied and moving refugee stories. The animations are designed to elicit empathy and understanding, to shift focus to the human, and not the central refugee experience, for a few minutes at a time. By finding this common ground, the debates, disputes and fears surrounding migrants, refugees and asylum seekers might be suspended and replaced by empathy.

The colourful and intricate tapestry of Woven Threads – Stories From Afar reminds us that regardless of creed or colour we all belong to the same human family, and as mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, we care for each other and dare to hope for peace and a safe place to call home.

SERIES 1 – REFUGEES

EPISODE ONE: OLIVE

Olive is sixteen, she lives with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), Major Depressive Disorder, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Anxiety.

At the age of nine, Olive began to have negative thoughts but she managed to hide them from everyone until she was eleven and a half, the first year of high school. After much school refusal, multiple psychologists, and several schools Olive had to be admitted to a youth mental health unit for six weeks.

Watch her as she tells her story, her challenges and how she grows from her experiences, not always smoothly but always forward.

Since making this film, Olive has had several difficult periods but she is still growing in her self-knowledge and learning new techniques for coping with her extremely challenging life.

EPISODE ONE: MARTI

In 1956, Marti and her family fled Budapest. This is the story of their escape. It was the month before Christmas and Marti’s mother was preparing her for the fact that the Angel wouldn’t know where they were this year.

EPISODE TWO: CARINA

In 1979, at the age of sixteen, Carina boarded a boat with her young brother and sister and left Vietnam. After a horrific journey through the South China Sea, they arrived in Indonesia, where they were taken by officials to an island and told to swim ashore.

EPISODE THREE: THE ABBOUDS

Kabil, a Mandean, lived with his wife and six children in Baghdad. He owned two jewellery stores – a business passed down from generation to generation. This is the story of how the Abboud family’s decision to leave Iraq separated them for the next five years.

EPISODE FOUR: ATIKA

Atika grew up in Afghanistan. She is a Hazara from a small country village where girls are not allowed to leave the house once they are ten years old. Education isn’t considered to be important for a girl.

EPISODE FIVE: ABRAHAM

In 1987, at the age of seven, Abraham fled war, leaving his family in South Sudan. Abraham joined a group of boys who numbered 50,000, becoming one of the Lost Boys of South Sudan. This is his story of the restorative power of football.

EPISODE SIX: HISHAM

When Hisham was thirteen, his father disappeared and he thought his childhood had ended. He was the oldest of his siblings and a male, so his mother would need his help. This is the story of what Hisham realised the day his father returned.

EPISODE SEVEN: FABLICE

This is the story of Fablice, who was orphaned at seven, lived on the streets and attended school during the day. He was taken from school to become a child soldier but he managed to escape, find his sister and arrive in a country where he thought the locals might eat him.

EPISODE EIGHT: ZAINAB

Zainab was born in Malaysia but has grown up in Australia. She is ethnically a Rohingya. This is her story of growing up with different traditions and at sixteen, starting to understand the amazing journey her parents took and how it has affected her life.

ATOM STUDY GUIDE

ATOM has also produced a study guide for Woven Threads: Stories From Afar. This study guide is available to download here.