PROJECT NOTES: Moroccan Voice

Funding: The Drug & Alcohol Action Team's Innovation Fund gave the project a 2,500 grant

Goals: The project aims to use the film-making process to explore the issues surrounding drug and alcohol use, and produce a film that will raise awareness in West Sussex of Moroccan culture

Inspired by the outreach work of the West Sussex Youth Parliament, Moroccan Voice was set up with the intention of giving a voice to young Moroccans living near or in Crawley.

Pandora Ellis, youth cabinet co-ordinator at West Sussex Youth Parliament, says: "We did some outreach work with young people in the Moroccan community as part of an effort to get young people without a voice involved in the youth parliament. We met one group of about 50 or 60 young people in Crawley who met on a Sunday to learn about Muslim teachings. They were so vibrant that I wanted to make a film with them."

Given the source of the funding, the film had to address drug and alcohol use, but this influence wasn't allowed to dominate the film.

"Some of the film focuses on drugs, but the connection is quite loose," explains Ellis. "It's about a group of seven Moroccan young people watching TV and flicking through the channels and commenting on the programmes they see.

"The programmes themselves, which include a take-off of Friends and the QVC shopping channel, touch on drugs. And there's a news report about a crime wave of teenagers stealing cigarettes, which the young people watch and then discuss."

The project hired a professional film-maker to help produce the film, which has now entered the editing stages. The finished product will be distributed to schools, youth groups and community centres across West Sussex.

"This is when it will raise cultural awareness, as it will give viewers an understanding of Moroccan culture," adds Ellis.