Mekanism Association is a dynamic platform dedicated to fostering initiatives that emphasize media as a powerful tool for social change. Our focus extends to producing compelling narratives that highlight critical issues and drive public engagement.
 Current Projects 2023-2024
Roma Education Fund (REF): An influential NGO, the Roma Education Fund has been instrumental in supporting the educational aspirations of Roma youth across Southeast Europe and the Western Balkans. Through scholarships, mentoring, and advocacy, REF empowers Roma students to access and succeed in educational opportunities, ultimately fostering greater inclusivity and equality.
The Blue Brick Road: This documentary explores the profound impact of the Roma Education Fund’s Scholarship Programs. Featuring a series of interviews and stories from students in Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Republic of Moldova, Slovakia, and Ukraine, “The Blue Brick Road” showcases education as the primary tool for empowerment and success among Roma youth. The film aims to inspire and motivate young Roma individuals to pursue education as the pathway to a brighter future. Over 17 years, the REF has significantly contributed to this mission, touching the lives of over 8,000 beneficiaries with its programs.
Mekanism Association remains committed to its mission of leveraging media to highlight and address societal issues, promoting a more informed and engaged public. Through our projects, we strive to enact change and inspire action towards a more equitable society.
2022-2023
Mekanism Association proudly collaborates with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) to amplify the voice and visibility of Ukrainian refugees through compelling media production. As part of our initiative, we are producing diverse media content to support NRC’s advocacy and fundraising efforts, highlighting their critical humanitarian work in Romania and Moldova.
Our creative mandate includes:
– Capturing dynamic photos for social media engagement.
– Crafting four poignant short video interviews, each narrating personal stories of resilience.
– Developing an inspirational institutional video that portrays the extensive activities and partnerships of the NRC in the region.
– Documenting impactful success stories, each accompanied by visual narratives that showcase the transformative effects of NRC’s programs.
2022-2023 European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) commissioned five compelling documentaries of Ukrainian refugee families with disabled children as they navigate an uncertain world, brought together by their shared strength and the compassionate organizations that stand by them in Slovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, and the Republic of Moldova
“Unseen Resilience: Journeys Beyond Borders” is an emotional and eye-opening documentary that compiles five distinct stories from the lives of Ukrainian refugee families with disabled children who have sought refuge in Slovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, and the Republic of Moldova. Each narrative explores their lives, their trials, their tribulations, and their triumphs. The film takes you inside their world, showcasing their resilience and strength as they cope with the adversity and displacement brought about by war. Simultaneously, it highlights the invaluable work of local organizations providing these families with not just physical support in terms of food, housing, and medical attention but also much-needed emotional and psychological assistance. The documentary is a testament to human endurance, compassion, and the power of unity in overcoming the harshest of adversities, serving as a powerful call to action for all viewers.
2020-2022 Another collaboration was with the Blondie Association to build a fundraising campaign. The Blondie Association aims to give sick and lonely children the chance for maximum development from a physical, emotional and intellectual point of view.
The project was in collaboration with Chef Cezar and Matei, one of the children who joined the #luamunavion campaign. They want to help buy the first air ambulance in Romania. We produced a video and a series of photos that were posted on social media to create an awareness campaign.
We thank our newer and older partners, Roma Education Fund (REF),  Norwegian Refugee Center (NRC), European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) Microsoft Education, Blondie Association, Samusocial Association from Romania, Radio Romania Cultural, Radio Guerilla, Scena9, RFI-Romania.”
– Laurențiu Garofeanu, President

Mission

The integrated and sustainable development of society through programs and projects aimed to improve the educational offer.

Promoting specific values of socio-cultural identity, creating a collective and individual responsibility with a higher social cohesion.

Through Non-formal education, Visual documentation, Culture and heritage, Local development through culture and community organization

Objectives

 

Development of national and international level own programs and in partnership with public authorities.

Providing consultancy and advice to interested persons, in the fields of human rights, development of civic consciousness, as well as in other fields of general interest regarding public life.

Organization of training courses, seminars, conferences, public debates, as well as the development of measures, public demonstrations and other activities to raise awareness of public opinion.

Promoting and carrying out activities, projects or programs in order to assume civic responsibilities within local communities.

Initiating, preparing and establishing media and institutional partnerships.

Development of strategies, promotion and communication materials.

Dissemination and continuous promotion of projects, press releases, promotional videos, online promotions, presentations, screenings and debates, press appearances, testimonials.

Creation of various digital materials, videos, documentaries for the purpose of the association.

Team

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Irina Enea is an emerging Romanian producer, production designer and casting director. In 4 years since her debut, she managed to produce, finance and release five indie short films: Dear Santa Claus (2018), The Tower of Pisa (2019), Don’t Draw the curtain (2019), The way home (2021) and Părfect (2022). The films are selected in over 30 festivals, winning several awards, and having TV distribution on HBO, Shorts TV & PRO Cinema. Her work also includes the online series The Dacians & The Romanians (3 episodes)

Dinu Atanasov is a film director that has been working in the video industry for over 8 years. He graduated from the Faculty of Film Directing and Television at Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts and later he specialized in documentary film at Master’s program. He has gained a lot of experience in video editing, film making, music videos, fashion videos, lots of commercials and documentaries, all this time collaborating with people from different countries such as: France, Ukraine, Russia, Montenegro, Germany, Switzerland.

With a passion for film, Simina has a BA in film directing at UNATC Bucharest, during which she directed six short movies. In 2022 she graduated with a Master’s degree in Film Production at the same university, where she produced several other short films. She has complemented her practical experience working as a production assistant for the production company DeFilm Production, for Mihai Mincan’s debut in feature film called “To the North”. She also collaborated with production companies like: Digital Spirit and Family Film on several commercial projects, for brands like: BMW, Zalando, Erste Bank, NEOM, Mercedes-Benz and Lindt.  

Andrei Martalog is a lighting designer based in Bucharest. He’s worked for the last 7 years with local production companies such as Icon Films, Studioset Productions, Multimedia EST, 2029, Saga Film,  Family Film and many others, for brands like: FIFA, TAZZ, KFC, McDonalds, L’Oreal, PRO TV, Carrefour and Nutella in the last year alone.

He’s also shot for Acasa, My Home (2020), which won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography in 2020 at Sundance and Mekanism’s own Industreality, Little Miss Pole Dance and Lost and Found.

Partners