Save the Children gives young film-makers a voice

Save the Children gives young film-makers a voice

Save the Children New Zealand online voters have given young Kiwi film-makers the thumbs up for their thought-provoking films about sustainability.

In the first initiative of its kind, The Outlook for Someday project, part-funded by Save the Children New Zealand, challenged young New Zealanders to make a five-minute film "through a lens of sustainability".

Young film-makers, aged from nine to 20 from all around New Zealand took part, each telling their stories using different genres – from animation, to drama and documentary.

John Bowis, Executive Director of Save the Children New Zealand, says: "Save the Children's vision is for a world that listens to young people and learns from them. The Outlook for Someday Project gave young New Zealanders the opportunity to showcase their views on sustainability to a wider audience and we are pleased to have been able to help kickstart this initiative."

Visitors were able to vote via a link on Save the Children New Zealand's website (www.savethechildren.org.nz) to choose their favourite from among a final pool of 20 winning films selected by judges with backgrounds in television, education and youth development.

Two entries tied for Best Winning Film, each taking a different approach.

Twenty-year-old Katie Baddock, who made Life To Scale with her brother Sam and friends Sarah Taylor and Tony Rayne considered sustainable living in her home town of St Clair, Dunedin.

"The film promotes the concept of living locally in self-sufficient communities with local resources," says Katie, a psychology student at Otago University.

And Inconvenient Tuth by brothers Guy and Paul Williams, aged 20 and 15, currently studying at Victoria University and Nelson College, is a parody inspired by former US Vice-President Al Gore's documentary, and uses comedy to make its point.

All 20 winning films can be viewed at: www.theoutlookforsomeday.net, at TVNZ on demand and as podcasts on iTunes.

The project was run by Connected Media, a charitable trust that promotes sustainability through media. A documentary about The Outlook for Someday is currently being made for Maori Television and will feature five of the 20 winning films.

Connected Media Project Director David Jacobs says: "We welcome Save the Children's support for this project because of their focus on young people and their commitment to youth participation."

ENDS