In Russia, WFC worked closely with Maloyaroslavskii Children’s Home, an orphanage in the Kaluga province. Lead tutor, Lucie Capel, a Russian-speaking drama practitiner and her co-tutor, a filmmaker from Moscow delivered a fictional shorts training programme to orphans 10 and 17 years-old. For some, this was their first experience of using the internet During the two-week programme, the young Russians made films on subjects ranging from love to physical training. They were incredibly interested and excited by the experience, so much so that they asked to take the phones out at break times to shoot their own films. In producing their final film, Fishing, the group decided to tell the story of a boy who was not allowed to go fishing as his father considered him to be too young. The film demonstrates the triumph of the boy who not only catches a big fish but earns the respect of his father The kids created, directed, produced and edited the film from beginning to end. This was the first time these young people have been given the chance to make a film.
The training was generously funded by Russian philanthropist, Marina Goncharenko, through the Goncharenko family foundation, Russian Century.