Children and Youth Empowered to Tell Stories with Mobile Technology
Screenies Children's Film Festival and MINA (Mobile Innovation Network Australasia) join forces to engage children and
youth creatively with mobile video production.
“Young people today have in their hands powerful tools to create and tell stories. We want to give them a clear pathway
to learn the craft and then see their own stories on screen,” says Janette Howe, Festival Founder/Director.
Starting with school holidays workshops MINA and Screenies are looking at ways to engage children and youth from 7 to 15
yearsold to make and share their stories using a smartphone, a phablet or a tablet.
Some participants will be eligible for MINA Youth Mentorship in order to further develop their mobile video production
skills and stories as well as increasing their chances to get their mobile film to be selected for the #MINA2016
International Mobile Innovation Screening in Melbourne (AUS), 30th November and 1st December 2016. Selected videos will
also screen at Screenies Children’s Film Festival 22–25th September at TAPAC in Auckland (NZ).
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Screenies and to engage with the very young – with our potential future creative
leaders. It is also important for MINA to develop such national partnerships in order to foster further mobile video
production development and expertise in New Zealand.” says Laurent Antonczak, MINA cofounder.
MINA [ http://mina.pro/ ] is an international network to promote cultural and research activities that examine and
expand the emerging possibilities of mobile media in New Zealand, in the Pacific region and more broadly
internationally. MINA aims to explore the possibilities of interaction between people, content and the emerging mobile
industry. Simultaneously MINA provides an opportunity for audiences, spanning from community groups to industry
consultants, to engage with new developments or training in the field of mobile technologies.
SCREENIES Children’s Film Festival launched in 2015 to engage children with diverse stories on screen in a dedicated
space like other children’s film festivals around the world. Media is an influential part of our children’s world and
providing access to diverse stories and empowering them to tell their own stories helps to build identity and a sense of
place in the world. In 2016/7 Screenies will include kids and youthmade content through the initiative with MINA.
ENDS