Powerful new film documents the recovery of Manchester Arena attack victims
The animated film features the real life voices of young people who were there on the night.
A new short film has been released documenting the recovery of some of those caught up in the terror attack at Manchester Arena.
It's an animated film featuring the real voices and stories of young people who survived the atrocity and gives a window into their experiences coping with trauma.
The film, called Journey of Recovery, was commissioned by the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund with the advice and support of the Manchester Resilience Hub.
It's been created as an educational tool to help schools, colleges and universities, as well as other young people, understand what people dealing with a traumatic experience are going through – and how best to support them.
Created and produced by Doodledo Motion, it combines the stories of 16 young people who were at the Arena on the night of the attack, aged 16-21, with animated images to illustrate their words.
Edith Conn, Chair of Trustees for the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, said: “This is a remarkable piece of work which we hope will be an important legacy of the Emergency Fund and something which will really help other people to understand and support young people going through trauma.
“We’d like to thank the brave young people who came forward to take part in this film and thank them for sharing their stories. Their powerful testimonies open a window into a difficult time and shed important light on what is like to go through such trauma – from the everyday challenges facing someone whose world has been turned upside down to the little things which can make a big difference."
Dr Kate Friedmann, Consultant Clinical Psychologist for the Manchester Resilience Hub, said: “It was an absolute privilege to be the clinical advisors for this project. It took great courage for the young people to come forward and tell their stories but they were determined to help others within education understand the life-changing impact of trauma and how to support affected students. The resulting animation is moving and thought provoking with heartfelt lived experience of what has helped and what did not.
“We hope the animation will add to conversations within education, not only about how to support young people impacted by trauma but around how educators and frontline staff need to be supported at all levels to do the work they do.”
Hits Radio's sympathies are with the families of the 22 people who were killed on 22nd May 2017.
You can watch the film HERE.
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