Unlocking Love / Domin Nakloke Film Series

The Executive Producer of the Domin Nakloke series held an engaging talk at Western Washington University in February sharing information with more than 70 students on the power of entertainment education and screening one of the episodes. 

Visual media plays an important role in introducing ideas and promoting targeted messaging in societies where literacy is low and social norms discourage behaviour change. Evidence shows that locally produced films like the Domin Nakloke film series are more likely to have an impact on attitudes and behaviours of individuals and groups of people in developing countries!

The Domin Nakloke film series engages Timorese on issues related to healthy relationships, gender equality, teenage pregnancy prevention and keeping pregnant girls in school. The four episodes produced are:

1. Selfie
2. Shout it out
3. No means no, and
4. Love is respect.

Since the launching of each film, the Domin Nakloke film series has been screened across Timor-Leste in different settings, such as schools and community events/gatherings, and by different organisations and agencies. The Domin Nakloke films rapidly went viral on Facebook, with the first episode “Selfie” receiving more than 20,000 views in 24 hours. Since then the various episodes have received more than 300,000 views on social media alone.

Evidence suggests that films targeted at social behaviour change are more effective when audience members participate in a discussion after exposure. As Ba Futuru, and other international agencies and local stakeholders, continue to use the popular Domin Nakloke film series as a tool to socialise the issues raised through the films, it has been evident that there is a need to provide guidance on discussions around the topics and key messages, as well as how to gauge impact results. 

Thus, the development of a Discussion Manual is underway  to support the effectiveness of screenings of the four-part Domin Nakloke film series, promote discussions and dialogue of the key topics and messagesand to encourage stakeholders using the films to provide feedback data on the impact of the screenings.The manual will provide guidance for those utilising the films to ensure rich discussions are taking place to enhance behaviour change outcomes. Moreover, the manuals will include the pre- and post-survey tools as well as follow-up surveys, with instructions on how to feed the results back for documentation and learning purposes.

Help by sharing this report on social media and getting your friends and collegues to also support this important work! 

Ba Futuru and the Australia Government’s Partnership for Human Development launched episode 4 “Love is Respect” of the Domin Nakloke / Unlocking Love film series on September 14th. The Australian Ambassador and representatives from the Timor-Leste Ministry of Education were in attendance amongst various other stakeholders.

Episode 4 delves into the issue of teenage pregnancy prevention and promotes open dialogue around the risks associated with sex. It also deals with the government of Timor-Leste's new Inclusive Education Policy, which has been passed but is not yet being fully implemented. This policy specifies the importance of pregnant girls and young mothers receiving an education, to counteract the social norm where many pregnant girls are kicked out of school or not able to go back after having a baby. After launching the film and editing it due to feedback from the Catholic church and the Timor-Leste Ministry of Health, we shared the film with various viewer groups to gauge its impact.

Thus far, the episode has received more than 60,000 views on social media and has been screened on national television for more than 100,000 viewers. The film has also been screen by the Ministry of Health, the Church, and other stakeholders for 1,000s of young viewers.

The results of one screening of the film by Ba Futuru with around 70 youth are as follows:

• 75% said that watching this episode motivated them to be more supportive of pregnant teenagers in their community and school

• 75% said that it motivated them to speak with their boyfriend or girlfriend about the consequences of teenage pregnancy

• 76% said that the episode motivated them to look for information about contraception

• 63% said that they will share the information from the episode with other people

• 75% percentage reported knowing after watching the film that teenage pregnancy (19 years of age and under) has higher health risks than for older women

Please continue to support this ground-breaking film series to bring additional important key messages to young people across Timor-Leste.