This is what happened to a student from Kosovo, now living in Barrow, whose story is being told in a new 30 minute documentary, premiered at the Apollo cinema in Barrow.

The film follows Mrika as she fulfills her dream of putting on a fashion show.

Who made it
Filmmaker Blerina Bujupi tells us more about the project and what she achieved through making the film.

In January 2003, I received a grant from the Millennium Awards to produce a documentary. 

The subject of my film is an 18-year-old Kosovar girl called Mrika Sinani who came to live in England four years ago as a war refugee from her country. Since then, she has achieved a great deal in her education and has turned around her life.

She has finished her GCSEs, her A-levels and she just finished the Art Foundation Course on Fashion Design at Sixth Form College in Barrow.

Terrifying past
The reason why I chose her as the subject of my film is because her life is a story of hope that should be told. She is not just any teenager but she has had a terrifying past and she managed to leave all that to one side and rebuild her life.

One of Mrika's designs been modeled at the fashion show

With help from the Millennium Awards, in March 2003, Mrika held her own fashion show where she presented garments based on traditional Kosovar clothes.

The documentary follows both her emotions and dreams for the future and the preparations for the show and it concludes with the successful ending of the fashion show.

Skills
By doing this project, I got the opportunity to develop my skills in camera work and editing but also to experience the situation that the filmmakers put themselves in to produce a film or documentary. It was a real challenge for me and I think I faced it well.