Send message to Contributor

Contribution short abstract:

This film is a story of a film project. It tells about the lives and views of five 14-year-old expatriate boys in Finland and the filmmaker's relationship to them during the filming.

Contribution long abstract:

The temporary labour migration of highly educated professionals is increasing in various parts of the world. Often the skilled international expatriates are accompanied by their children when they move to new countries. In my ethnographic research project, I investigate the views and experiences of such expatriate children and youth in Finland. During my fieldwork, I filmed a group of 14-year-old boys on their free time in a Finnish town. The footage was filmed last spring, and I have now edited the rough cut of the film (45 minutes long). The film is above all a story of our film project that did not go according to my plans. In addition, the film tells about the boys' freetime activities; the good times that they have with their friends and the social interactions among them when they hang out together. Moreover, the film shows their reflections on their lives and experiences as "foreigners" in a Finnish town. It is an ethnographic film where the researcher managed to build open and trusting relationships with the participants, and the result is a happy film with good moods. I would very much like to get feedback on the narrative structure and the editing of the film.