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Hope (Esperança) — Cécile Rousset with Jeanne Paturle and Benjamin Serero, 2019

In this animated short, a girl tells her story of fleeing danger and assimilating into a new society. Being different can be hard, and there are many issues to resolve as she settles into her new life.

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Classroom Activities

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Critical

  • Sound On/Vision Off. Play this film sharing audio only. Make a list of all the ambient sound: what objects, people, places do you hear? Do you all hear the same things? Re-listen to objects which are more difficult and see if you can work them out together. Where do you think this film is set?
  • The predominant colour in this animation is yellow. What moods, feelings, or objects do we usually associate with yellow? Why do you think it has been used here? Watch as the animator gradually introduces more colours: why do you think they have changed their approach?
  • Non-diegetic sound is used throughout by way of an audio interview overlaid over the animation. What is the effect of using the girl’s own voice?
  • The imagery throughout is deceivingly simple yet difficult to accomplish. How does the imagery created further our understanding of the events of her father’s kidnapping beyond what is said in the dialogue? What new information do you gather from the images? Why is her father then faded out? Do you think this is effective? Listen to the sound at this point – how do sound and imagery support one another?

Cultural

  • What images come to mind when you think about Angola/Africa? What do you imagine the houses, towns and cities look like? Now look at some images of Luanda (Loanda). Is it what you expected? How is it different from your initial thoughts? What were your assumptions about African city life before hand? How does our media consumption form our understanding of African culture? How have your ideas about Africa either been confirmed or changed because of this task?
  • Find out more about the current cultural climate in Angola. How is the average school pupil’s life there different from your own? Make a list of similarities and differences.
  • How does the language barrier effect the girl’s initial experiences in France? Imagine you are set down in a country where you have never been and you do not understand the language. Other than a dictionary, which objects would you need to help you find your way and get support? What sign language could you use which is universal?
  • Around 02:30 minutes, there is a moment of synchronised movement between a group of characters the girl is talking about. What does this synchronisation signify? Does the girl feel part of the group? What are her feelings at this point?
  • Imagine you are starting a new school in a new country, and with a new language. What kinds of things would you do to cope both during the school day and at home?
  • Imagine that Scotland is disappearing. You have to move abroad and beyond your own clothes and personal items you can only take five items of cultural significance with you. Your items must be used to educate/inform your new community about a Scotland they will never see. What items will you take? Using a template image of a suitcase, draw your items inside. Annotate your sketch to explain why you have made these selections. Present your ideas to the group. Suddenly you are told that you must remove one of your five objects. Which one will you select? How will you make the decision? How do you decide which are more important? What are your priorities? What was your rationale?

Creative

WRITE

  • Write a short story about a difficult journey. It could be anything from a serious event to taking your reluctant dog to the vet. How will your present your story in such a way that you engage the audience? Will you use descriptive language? Humour? Comedy? Sound effects? Read your story out loud using variety of tone of voice and projection to add to the listeners understanding of mood.

FILMMAKING

  • Create your own soundscape of somewhere nearby. Record the ambient sounds, specific objects and people. Share your soundscape with the group and see if they can identify where you have been. Can they identify the objects and people creating the sounds?

MAKE

  • Using maps, create a map of your life. Cut and paste (either physically or digitally) areas of map which show places which have been important in your life. Collage these into a silhouette of your head and shoulders, or your whole body (or use a human body template for this task). Mark key locations using symbols to explain why they are important (e.g. a house icon, a friendship icon, a holiday icon etc.)

DRAMA

  • Write a two-minute script about two people meeting. One speaks English, the other speaks only gobble-de-gook. What fun can you have getting one to understand the other? How will body language, action, tone of voice, facial expression and props play their part in helping the two to understand one another in the end?

STEM

  • Locate Angola on the map. Find alternative ways to get from Angola to Amiens in France. How long would each route take? How easy would it be? How expensive? Safe? What risks does each pose? Share with the class. Which route would you take and why?

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In partnership with: Education Scotland Creative Scotland Screen Scotland