What happens when young people are given a camera, some technical support and the freedom to create whatever they want?
That question is at the heart of ‘Children Meet Cinema’ (CMC), a pioneering film education project founded in Japan by Etsuko Dohi. Guided by the motto "Don't teach", CMC encourages young people to discover their own creative voice rather than work towards prescribed outcomes.
In August 2025, Dr Jamie Chambers of Edinburgh College of Art (and the curator of the Folk Film Gathering film festival) and I travelled to Tokyo to see the project in action. The films created by young participants were bold, surprising and refreshingly free from conventional ideas of what cinema should be. Inspired by what we saw, we decided to bring the approach to Scotland through our film education programme, Our Cinema, with Etsuko's blessing.
In spring 2026, we partnered with Nicola Daniel, Curriculum Lead in English at Broughton High School in Edinburgh and a graduate of Queen Margaret University’s PG Cert in Film and Screen Education, to recruit 18 young people for Scotland's first Children Meet Cinema-inspired workshop. Our aim was simple: to create a space where young people could explore filmmaking on their own terms and discover the power of telling stories through film.
From Tokyo to Scotland
Our visit to Japan ultimately led to a special dossier on ‘Children Meet Cinema’ in the latest edition of the ‘Film Education Journal’.
A key part of the Children Meet Cinema model is engagement with film professionals. Each year, a filmmaker's work inspires a series of creative exercises designed to help young people discover their own cinema rather than replicate somebody else's.
To bring that approach to Scotland, we invited writer and director Scott Graham to lead the project. With acclaimed films including ‘Shell’, ‘Iona’ and ‘Run’, Scott's work explores Scottish places, communities and experiences, making him an ideal collaborator.
The workshop was scheduled as part of the Folk Film Gathering festival, which places Scottish cinema at the heart of its programme and explores how the lived experiences of Scottish communities are represented on screen. Scott's work aligned perfectly with the festival's ethos and our hopes for the project.
What is felt but not spoken
Through a series of discussions with Scott, we developed the central theme for the workshop: "What is felt but not spoken."
The idea emerged from Scott's own films, where characters are often shaped by emotions, memories and experiences they struggle to articulate.
That made the theme especially powerful. If adults stepped back and gave young people creative freedom, what might they choose to express? What experiences, feelings or anxieties might emerge? And how could cinema help them communicate these things in ways that words sometimes cannot?
As one participant observed during the workshop, cinema is built on a principle of "show, don't tell", allowing emotions, ideas and experiences to be expressed through images, movement, sound and performance rather than direct explanation.
Finding a voice through film
Dr Jamie Chambers and I, alongside Scott Graham, filmmaker Duncan Cowles and Edinburgh Filmhouse Learning and Engagement Officer Maili Fraer, ran the workshop over eight days in May 2026.
The 18 participants worked through four filmmaking exercises before forming three groups of six to create their own short films.
What emerged was extraordinary. Each film was completely distinct, yet all explored, in different ways, what it means to feel disconnected from the world around you. Their characters were misunderstood, isolated or struggling to belong. In one film, a young person becomes increasingly alienated from their friends through demonic possession. In another, emotions simmer beneath the surface of everyday interactions.
Together, the films spoke directly to the workshop's theme, portraying characters struggling to express feelings that remained unspoken.
That is what filmmaking can unlock for young people. In a world dominated by video content, creating films rather than simply consuming them gives young people a powerful outlet for self-expression. It helps build confidence, encourages creative thinking and reinforces the idea that their perspectives matter.
A lasting impact
The short films, alongside a behind-the-scenes documentary by Tarik Jawaani, premiered at the Cameo Picturehouse during the Edinburgh International Festival on 17 August 2026.
The screening gave us a welcome opportunity to reunite with the young filmmakers and hear about the impact the project had on them.
One participant told the audience:
"I loved the experience, and the experience of acting and working with the camera. It's kind of made me consider what I want to be when I grow up."
For Nicola Daniel, the effects of the project extended far beyond filmmaking skills: "Being part of this project was one of the most uplifting creative experiences of my career. Working alongside such talented practitioners brought a richness and authenticity to the process that the young people immediately responded to.
Watching the young people take risks, collaborate with maturity and produce films that were imaginative, polished and deeply personal was extraordinary. Beyond developing technical skills, the impact on their confidence, communication and creative thinking was striking, with many discovering strengths they didn't know they had."
For all of us involved, her reflections capture exactly why the project mattered. By putting cameras into young people's hands and trusting them to tell their own stories, we witnessed not only the creation of three remarkable films, but also a powerful reminder that young people have important perspectives to share when given the freedom, confidence and opportunity to do so.
