Reclaiming the Night is an award-winning short documentary exploring Norwegian professor Jon-Håkon Schultz’s decade-long partnership with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) to support refugee children in overcoming trauma-induced nightmares.
Documenting a professor’s lifelong battle to help refugee children heal
A professor of educational psychology at The Arctic University of Norway (UiT), Jon-Håkon Schultz has spent his career researching the educational impact of trauma on children and how schools can become spaces for recovery. His research highlights a fundamental truth: trauma profoundly disrupts a child’s ability to learn and by identifying the intersection between psychological well-being and education, Schultz has worked with NRC to develop practical, evidence-based interventions that help displaced and conflict-affected children regain a sense of stability and re-engage with learning.
This insight became the foundation of the Better Learning Programme (BLP), a classroom-based psychosocial support initiative co-developed with NRC. Initially piloted in Gaza, the programme provided structured cognitive exercises designed to help children regain control over their nightmares. The results were striking; children who engaged in the intervention saw significant reductions in trauma symptoms, improved sleep, and better academic performance. Over time, the programme evolved into a comprehensive classroom-based intervention, now implemented in 34 countries and reaching over one million children.
From Tromsø to Lebanon
Reclaiming the Night, directed and produced by British filmmaker, Daniel Benjamin Wheeler, captures the journey from academic research to real-world application. The film follows Schultz from his university office in Tromsø, Norway, 217 miles above the arctic circle, to the heart of Beirut, Lebanon, where NRC staff implement the BLP in refugee learning centres.
Here, the film offers an unflinching look into the lives of war-affected children. Schultz meets a young Syrian girl from Raqqa, a city once known as the de facto capital of ISIS, who was deeply scarred after witnessing a brutal attack on her uncle. Through NRC’s BLP, she found not only support but also a path toward healing.
A professor of educational psychology at The Arctic University of Norway (UiT), Jon-Håkon Schultz has spent his career researching the educational impact of trauma on children and how schools can become spaces for recovery. His research highlights a fundamental truth: trauma profoundly disrupts a child’s ability to learn and by identifying the intersection between psychological well-being and education, Schultz has worked with NRC to develop practical, evidence-based interventions that help displaced and conflict-affected children regain a sense of stability and re-engage with learning.
This insight became the foundation of the Better Learning Programme (BLP), a classroom-based psychosocial support initiative co-developed with NRC. Initially piloted in Gaza, the programme provided structured cognitive exercises designed to help children regain control over their nightmares. The results were striking; children who engaged in the intervention saw significant reductions in trauma symptoms, improved sleep, and better academic performance. Over time, the programme evolved into a comprehensive classroom-based intervention, now implemented in 34 countries and reaching over one million children.
From Tromsø to Lebanon
Reclaiming the Night, directed and produced by British filmmaker, Daniel Benjamin Wheeler, captures the journey from academic research to real-world application. The film follows Schultz from his university office in Tromsø, Norway, 217 miles above the arctic circle, to the heart of Beirut, Lebanon, where NRC staff implement the BLP in refugee learning centres.
Here, the film offers an unflinching look into the lives of war-affected children. Schultz meets a young Syrian girl from Raqqa, a city once known as the de facto capital of ISIS, who was deeply scarred after witnessing a brutal attack on her uncle. Through NRC’s BLP, she found not only support but also a path toward healing.
For Wheeler, an experienced war journalist who has covered conflicts in places like Iraq, South Sudan, and Afghanistan, the film was an opportunity to shift the lens from the visible impact of war to the often-forgotten battles that persist long after the fighting stops.
“I’ve spent years reporting on war, capturing its immediate devastation and aftermath,” says Wheeler. “But what is often overlooked is the unseen battle that continues long after the guns fall silent. What I have consistently found, despite the unimaginable losses, is the human capacity to find meaning in suffering. That, to me, is the greatest defiance of war.”
Filming in Lebanon gave Wheeler a firsthand look at the transformative impact of psychosocial interventions like the BLP, but it also revealed the emotional toll shouldered by those who provide such critical support.
“To bear witness to suffering is to bear part of its weight,” he reflects. “I wanted to explore not only how Schultz helps these children reclaim their nights but also how he copes with the burden of their stories. More importantly, what gives him the unwavering belief that, despite everything, healing remains possible.”
Reclaiming the Night sheds light on the psychological cost of war and the transformative power of structured psychosocial support interventions. But more than that, it is a testament to human resilience, the strength of survivors, and the people dedicated to helping them rebuild. Its impact has resonated across global audiences, earning recognition at international film festivals in Los Angeles, New York, and Berlin. The film was also featured in the 2024 UK Documentaries Catalogue by the British Council, cementing its place among last year’s most compelling non-fiction storytelling.
Watch the film