Elspeth Vischer, Project Coordinator for both Phase 1 and 2 of the Northern Ireland Now project, speaks to us about the importance of contemporary collecting and her experiences working on the project with Nerve Centre and Northern Ireland Screen.

It’s been my pleasure and privilege to work with community partners all over Belfast and the North to collect contemporary materials that have been added to the Digital Film Archive. Through two phases of Northern Ireland Now we have collaborated with groups who have shared insights, knowledge, wisdom and wonder through moving image. Our latest collection is testament to this. The perspectives of young people in Belfast have been a particularly strong and valuable element of this latest phase of Northern Ireland Now.

One video that stood out to me from our second phase collection, comes from our partner Include Youth. I am no great football fanatic, but with the World Cup in the air this summer, one young football player Khamis reflected on how he moved to Belfast and joined a local football team: Bloomfield F.C. This short video is in the style of a football pundit’s interview and match highlights. It showcases why the stories from participants in Northern Ireland Now are so vital to showcase. Khamis’s story among the many others in our collections, open perceptions of what this place is and what it means to be included in meaningful ways in our local communities.

We need more things like football, culture and community, bringing us together and I hope videos like this go some way to doing that for years to come within the Digital Film Archive!