This Is What A Generation Sounds Like

This is the fourth episode from the series of a visual podcast series on what it means to be young in Europe today: intimate stories from young Europeans across the continent. This is Mohamed's story, a young man living in limbo while trapped in a labyrinth of bureaucracy.

July 27, 2023

A screenshot from the animated video shows a painted house, a person inside and the words be strong

This is what a generation sounds like © TIWAGSL

‘This Is What A Generation Sounds Like’ offers eight young Europeans the opportunity to develop podcast episodes telling their stories from their part of Europe. The participants are not expected to have previous audio experience. The producers of Are We Europe & The Europeans mentor them in using audio to explore pressing social and political issues, whether in their village, region, or Europe at large. A joint project of European storytelling collective Are We Europe and the makers of the award-winning podcast The Europeans, the project aims to make an innovative series of visual podcasts, pushing the boundaries of this rapidly developing digital art form. Working with participants aged 18-34, they will produce eight episodes that reflect critically on what it means to be young in Europe today. The episodes will explore the continent’s major problems, from homophobia to the dismantling of democracy, as well as exploring potential solutions. These sound-rich, beautifully produced audio stories are being turned into innovative and immersive “visual” podcasts, combining Are We Europe’s cutting-edge design skills with The Europeans’ audio expertise. The Allianz Foundation supports the project.

Those of us who enjoy the right to live and work legally in Europe spend little time thinking about it. But Mohamed is undocumented, and his status follows him everywhere. This week, he invites us into his world of baffling bureaucracy. Here you can also listen to his story.

Mohamed the Film © TIWAGSL

Film credits

Art Direction & Motion Design: Studio Mélody Da Fonseca
Motion Design & Illustration Assistants: Andréa Reille & Rafaelle Fillastre
Producers: Katz Laszlo and Mohamed Bah
Mixing and Mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Sound design: Katz Laszlo
Editor: Katy Lee
Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer and Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel To Be Free, covered by Bahghi; Ancore une Staggione by Bottega Baltazar; Blurry by Curtis Cole; Kongo by Trio Particular; Coco Bread by Wearethegood; Mas Feliz Del Mundo by Ofir Atar; Fandanguillo also by Ofir Atar; No One Is Out Here by Yehezkel Raz. Theme music by Jim Barne. SFX from Freesound.org.

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