In the Making – Our First Screening at Arts Action Festival

Fresh from premiering their new film In the Making at Arts Action Festival, Youth Circle’s Ellie Meredith shares highlights from the Festival experience and explores next steps for the the group with us.

On the 25th of October, the Youth Circle gathered in Shoreditch, London, to share something very close to our hearts – the first public screening of our film In the Making at Sibling Arts’ Arts Action Festival (AAF).

The Arts Action Festival is more than an event – it’s a movement. Through music, theatre, and film, AAF amplifies hidden voices, wins hearts and minds to justice, and helps reimagine relationships across communities, sectors, and industries. Their work reminds us that change, once truly felt, becomes irreversible.

Our film was born from that same pulse – from the energy, curiosity, and voices of young people across the UK who are reimagining what it means to lead, connect, and act in times of rapid change. Here’s a short snippet –

As In the Making flickered across the big screen – footage captured on our phones, in our hearts, and through our conversations – it felt uplifting. What does it really mean to be young in a world shifting so fast? What hopes, strengths, and struggles shape those daring to dream of something better? And what stands between passion and the power to make it real – to turn ideas into leadership, action, and intergenerational collaboration?

In the Making leans into those questions. It follows young people as they carve their own paths toward transformation – navigating uncertainty, rediscovering community, and creating space for change to take root. It celebrates the resilience and imagination of youth, and shows how, when met with the right support, that energy can ignite movements, renew communities, and shape a more just, interconnected world. 

From watching to reflecting

After the screening, we stepped into a Milling workshop inspired by the work of Joanna Macy – moving from watching to reflecting, from story to shared experience. There was something tender about that space: strangers and friends side by side, exchanging fragments of their own hopes and fears, imagining what could be possible together. It reminded us why storytelling matters. Why listening matters. Why co-creation matters. These small sparks – a word, a gesture, a shared silence – are where real change begins. 

“Understanding of the world, understanding of themselves, positivity, depth of insight into intersectionality, seeing lives beyond their own experiences. The future is bright – trust young people.” – Rakesh

“Oxygenating and nourishing, heating stories like this, along with the constellations and updates from across the movement “ – Rich

“Love the in-person vibration” – Liba

“I really relish being around young people – it makes us older people feel more energised and hopeful” – Amanda

It was such a joy to reconnect with fellow Transition folks and the London Hub, to meet people featured in the film, and to marvel at Rakesh’s pedal-powered Henry Hoover sound system in glorious 3D! 

We were also delighted to see the Just Transition cards co-created by our circle alongside other groups across the movement – tools that help gatherings and events become more accessible and inclusive, rooted in a lens of just transition and centred on voices too often forgotten in the weeds of the work.

Where next?

Looking ahead, we hope In the Making will be shown at the upcoming Wales and England Working Group Bristol gathering, so we can watch it together and dream further into the work that inspired it. We’d also love for the film to travel – through communities and Hubs across the country – as a conversation-starter and catalyst for connection with younger activists in your communities.

The next phase of this journey will take shape as a co-created handbook – an invitation to deepen engagement with young voices at the heart of this moment. It will explore questions such as:

• How can Transition become a truly intergenerational movement?
• How can we grow together and make our work more accessible and inclusive for all?
  

Like the film, it will also name the challenges and barriers young people face as they try to show up for what they care about most. The handbook will include workshop formats, practical offerings, and next steps for Hubs ready to take this work further.

We are overflowing with gratitude – to Transition Together, Sibling Arts, and everyone who came, listened, reflected, and shared. This is only the beginning.

Here’s to more stories, more connection, and more ways to celebrate the unstoppable energy and creativity of youth. 

If you’d like to collaborate with us, host a screening, or feed into this work, please get in touch:
youthcircle.transition@proton.me

– Ellie, YC