What’s in a story? Unreflected Reflections, the biography of community
If ever there was a demonstration of the value of intergenerational storytelling, it was our day shared with The Friendship Café watching the second in their trilogy of community films. Pioneering Glimpses tells the story of the Muslim Community in Gloucester, with its gentle biographical style exploring the history of faith in the city.
The deeply personal documentary shares first-person interviews of the earliest Muslim migrants to Gloucester, who established the community and then the first Mosque, and who have continued as the elders in a vibrant, supportive, and creative collective. Aside from a powerfully moving film, the value of the screening was in sharing the realities and experiences of a generation. Intergenerational storytelling is powerful in its ability to connect, engage, and support community ties, while celebrating culture and deep-rooted bonds. It shares the lived experiences that brought us to today, preserving history for the generations yet to come.
The event, organised in collaboration with The Friendship Café, The Friends, and Westonbirt Arboretum, was more than just an opportunity to watch a film - it was a meaningful way for the community to connect with their cultural history. Many of the attendees, who had emigrated from rural areas in South Asia to the urban city of Gloucester, had either not left the city since their arrival or had children who never experienced their rural roots. For them, the event provided an opportunity to explore a sprawling natural landscape for the very first time. The arboretum, with its vast collection of trees, allowed these individuals to reconnect with nature in a way that echoed their rural upbringing, offering a tangible link to the experiences and heritage they, or their elders, had left behind.
Delivered as part of our Access to Nature campaign - of which Ismail, CEO of The Friendship Café (at the time of the event), has long been an ambassador – the group embarked on guided walks, enjoyed stunning views from the Treetop Walkway, and experienced an autumn-inspired talk amidst the trees. With access to the arboretum and transportation funded by The Friends, events like these are precisely what the Access to Nature programme was designed for: engaging, inspiring, and connecting new communities to nature, and fostering a deep love for vital ecosystems that support it.
We’re excited to welcome back future groups from this community and continue our outreach to other disadvantaged or nature-disconnected communities.
Unreflected Reflections follows on from the Untold Stories filmed in the 1990s, and the History of Muslims in Gloucester film from 2008. Screenings are promoted or can be organised via the Unreflected Reflections Instagram page.
