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esidents of Sumber, Muntilan district, Magelang, Central Java, were abuzz as they spent an evening enjoying four short films made by four local youth groups.

Captivated by each 15 to 25-minute-long piece, the cool night air on the slopes of Mount Merapi did not bother them.

“For us, this is a rare night of entertainment that we won’t miss. We are surely here to enjoy it,” Surami, one of the residents, said.

A similar scene also played out in Bawuran, Klaten regency, Central Java, and in Wonokerto subdistrict in Sleman, Yogyakarta.

Slamet, the head of Bawuran subdistrict, said youth groups’ filmmaking process had helped improve the spirit of survival among the locals.

He said most of the youth in Bawuran, regardless of whether they continued their studies or not, had nothing else to do besides help their parents with their agricultural work.

He said things worsened following Mt. Merapi’s eruptions at the end of last year — the biggest in the last 100 years — which physically and psychologically exhausted the residents. Their daily activities became stagnant.

“Watching the youth be so full of spirit, so enthusiastic and happy when making the films, made the whole subdistrict feel the same spirit and happiness,” Slamet said, adding that it helped them forget a little bit their problems in life.

Project coordinator of the Psychosocial Intervention for Merapi Recovery (PIMR) Plan Indonesia, Agustina Bunganna Pamuso, said that the program did not just teach the youth about technical matters or movie-making skills.

She said it was more about providing opportunities for them to explore their interests, identify the needs and potentials of their respective subdistricts and portray the changes that Merapi’s eruptions had brought to their lives and their regions.

“This learning process has resulted in strong motivation and built confidence in them that they can create work and bring out a theme of their recovery,” Agustina said.

“Strengthening resilience will in turn increase their psychological wealth. This has been the target of this psychosocial program,” she added.

The program, which was held in cooperation with local partner Yayasan Lestari Indonesia, involved 50 young people between the ages of 15 and 25 years old from 10 subdistricts in Klaten and Magelang in Central Java and from Sleman in Yogyakarta.

Participants were trained for two months and then challenged to set up a movie production house in their respective subdistricts and make documentaries about the eruption recovery process in their regions. “This is just one of many psychosocial recovery programs, an important phase that is often forgotten,” Agustina said.

Suryati, 19, of Bale Indie production house in Balerante, Klaten, said her group produced a film about how children in her subdistrict revived their spirit from the traumatic experiences from the eruptions.

“We titled it Semangatku Awal Hidupku [my spirit is the beginning of my life]. I was entrusted with directing, something that I never even imagined before,” said the high school graduate.

She said her group thoroughly enjoyed the process and so did the children and other teenagers in their subdistrict as they filmed the movie.

“We have made up our minds to save money and buy our own camera that we can use to start a business for recording wedding parties or other events, while at the same time share what we have learned with other friends,” she added.