Feature film will show how rugby changed the lives of young convicts

A feature film titled ‘Negative Numbers’ is being produced in Georgia, about how rugby changed the lives of children in conflict with the law at the Special Educational Establishment of the Ministry of Corrections in the capital Tbilisi.

The film is a joint initiative of UNICEF, the Ministry of Corrections, and the Georgian Rugby Union.

The film is based on true stories of young people in conflict with the law whose lives were transformed by playing rugby.  

The initiative, which involved rugby lessons and the rehabilitation of the sports field of the Special Educational Establishment in Tbilisi, was implemented by UNICEF with financial support from the European Union.

In 2011, rugby lessons were introduced at the Special Educational Establishment to help convicted youth learn about healthy lifestyles and teamwork.

[The] Lessons made a strong impact on young people at the Special Educational Establishment as they became less aggressive to one another; learned how to admit mistakes and apologies; learned to better cope with failures on and off the pitch and showed respect to the peers who won the game; felt better both physically and mentally,” UNICEF Georgia reported.

Up to 60 children were involved in the initiative thus far, and many of them continued playing rugby after they left the institution.