***Info after the RJ Week on more screenings and for buying DVDs***
Between January-November 2017, the EFRJ is coordinating the film making of the theatre play ‘A Conversation’ written by David Williamson, adapted to a European context and directed by Peter Harris, performed by the amateur theatre group No Theatre and filmed by Oddbjørn Austevik and colleagues. The play is about the meeting between two families: the parents of a young woman who was raped and murdered and the family of the offender.
WATCH THE TRAILER on our Vimeo channel! Feel free to disseminate this flyer about the film and read the instructions that explain the film and help the discussion afterwards.
Please note that this film in an art-piece which aims to contribute to the discourse about RJ and to raise awareness on the importance of dialogue and focus on the emotions in cases of serious crime. The film does not necessarily represent the EFRJ’s views on how to facilitate a RJ process. Siw Risøy (actor and coordinator of No Theatre) explains here in few words the background of the theatre play.
SCREENINGS IN YOUR AREA> VIEW THE CALENDAR
On the occasion of the RJ WEEK 2017, the film will be screened across Europe and beyond: if you want to organise a film screening and debate between 19-26 November, please contact Emanuela Biffi (and send your information as requested in this Word document). Find here a short intro from the coordinator of No Theatre and the guidelines for the film screening. The full film is accessible to EFRJ members only (contact us to receive the password). EFRJ SCREENINGS IN BRUSSELS & LEUVEN> CLICK HERE
BE A EFRJ MEMBER! As a EFRJ member, you will be able to have immediate access to the film (Vimeo channel: contact us to receive an email with the password). If you are not a member yet, we invite you to check the membership options: organisations can benefit of several membership advantages starting from 135 euros per year.
DONATE TO NO THEATRE! If you prefer not to be affiliated with the EFRJ, you are invited to fill in the online form below and make a donation to No Theatre, the group who made the film: it put a lot of resources to finalize this theatre and filming project, so we invite you to make a donation reflecting, as a minimum, the EFRJ membership fees. No Theatre will use donations for other art projects.
BRIEF HISTORY OF THIS FILMING PROJECT
Two years ago, on the occasion of the RJ WEEK 2015, which coincided with the 15th anniversary of the EFRJ, the EFRJ organised several activities in Leuven including a theatre performance on RJ entitled ‘A Conversation’. Two years after, we are happy to announce that this theatre play turned into a film, which will be launched during the RJ WEEK 2017 (19-26 November)!
The EFRJ received funding from the Ministry of Justice of Catalonia (represented by Marc Ceron Riera, former member of the Criminal Justice Platform Europe), the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice of the Basque country (represented by Roberto Moreno Alvarez, one of the EFRJ Board members) and the European Commission through a grant to the EFRJ.
Thanks to the voluntary commitment of the EFRJ membership, the film is subtitled in 16 languages. These 14 languages are available on the DVDs: Albanian ٠ Croatian ٠ Dutch ٠ English ٠ French ٠ German ٠ Greek ٠ Hebrew ٠ Hungarian ٠ Italian ٠ Nepali ٠ Portuguese ٠ Russian ٠ Spanish. Additional 2 languages are available on the Vimeo channel: Bulgaria ٠ Polish.
THE THEATRE PLAY: A CONVERSATION
‘A Conversation’ is a play written by the Australian playwright David Williamson. It was developed in close collaboration with John McDonald, a leading expert in the field of community conferencing(a method for reconciliation in criminal justice), which is also one of the subjects in the play. The play and the performance itself is a powerful example of the transformative power of dialogue for people affected by crime and trauma. It shows how conflict can be reduced through mediation between perpetrators and victims. It is not an easy play to watch, or to perform. ‘A Conversation’ is an important contribution to the ongoing discourse on restorative justice.
THE THEATRE GROUP: NO THEATRE
No Theatre is a non-profit community theatre group based in Oslo, Norway with non-professional actors from all over the world, i.e. Norway, Spain, Germany, UK, Belgium and with a director from the UK. They all have other jobs, but they are very committed in playing ‘A Conversation’ since 6 years: they believe, really and passionately, about the subject of their play and they have been inspired to see that it had such a powerful effect on the audience so far. They sincerely hope that their play can help influence the approach of the criminal justice system to reconciliation and ultimately that the power of dialogue is recognised as a key factor in facilitating reconciliation and forgiveness after a crime has been committed.
THE FILM: A CONVERSATION
- Plot keywords: theatre; restorative justice; crime; rape; homicide; community conferencing; true story; victim; perpetrator; family; encounter; dialogue; reconciliation.
- Genre: Drama
- Date of release: November 2017 (international RJ WEEK)
- Length: 1h 22min
- Audio: English (please note that the actors are from different countries and the English is spoken with different accents)
- Subtitles: Albanian ٠ Croatian ٠ Dutch ٠ English ٠ French ٠ German ٠ Greek ٠ Hebrew ٠ Hungarian ٠ Italian ٠ Nepali ٠ Portuguese ٠ Russian ٠ Spanish
- Director: Peter Harris & Oddbjørn Austevik. Writer: David Williamson. Theatre coordinator: Siw Risøy.
- Cast: click here to know more about all actors!
- This is a film of a play, and not a movie in its own right. In other words the script and the performance is directed to a live audience, hence might be perceived differently on video. Also, all the actors have performed the play live at several occasions, but most of them have never performed in a film.
RECOMMENDATIONS
‘A Conversation is a really powerful play. The first time I saw it, I was hit in the stomach. It was raw, it was naked. It was not like anything else I had seen before.’ Mona Mathisen, youth coordinator, The Norwegian Mediation Centre
‘Having myself worked for some years with similar processes of conflict management, I find [A Conversation] to be the best and the most realistic representation of such a process.’ Espen Foss, Advisor, Street mediation, Norwegian Red Cross
