First Light Movies is delighted to be working with Film Education to screen some of our funded films as part of their extremely popular nationwide National Schools Film Week during October 2008.

National Schools Film Week is the biggest event of its kind in the world and in 2007 enabled 300,000 students to watch 1,500 diverse and challenging films in 530 locations throughout the UK! This year’s event is scheduled for 20 - 24 October in England and Wales and 3 – 7 November in Scotland.

This year a number of First Light Movies funded films will be screened regionally, where they were made, before major features suitable for a wide range of children and young people. The films include the hilarious Dirty Secret, about a man who goes through an unexplained growth spurt until his unhealthy secret is discovered, made by young people from Thomas Adams Media School in Shropshire and the animated short The Singing Banana Bomb, made by a group of primary-aged children from London with Chocolate Films.

The dates and locations of all the First Light Movies screenings are listed below, but if you would like more information about National Schools Film Week log on to http://www.nsfw.org/ All screenings begin at 10am and are for schools only.

Dirty Secret, Thomas Adams Media School
Shropshire, West Midlands
To be screened at: Shrewsbury Market Hall, The Square, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1LH
Tue 21 Oct with Persepolis [12A, 95 minutes]

The Return, ISCA College
Exeter, South West
To be screened at: Exeter Picturehouse, 51 Bartholomew St, West Exeter EX4 3AJ
Wed 22 Oct withThe Kite Runner, The [12A, 122 minutes]

And It’s Goodbye to Care, Strangeboat
Islay, Scotland
To be screened at: Edinburgh Cameo, 38 Home St, Edinburgh EH3 9LZ
Fri 7 Nov with Angus, Thongs And Perfect Snogging [12A, 100 minutes]

Polaroid, Compulsive Community Pictures
Chichester, South East
To be screened at: Chichester New Park , New Park Road, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 7X
Tue 21 Oct with Persepolis [12A, 95 minutes]

The News, Community Arts North West
Manchester, North West
To be screened at: Manchester Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford St, Manchester, Lancashire M1 5NH
Thu 23 Oct with The Boy in Striped Pyjamas [12A, 94 minutes] Introduced by Amnesty International UK [15 mins] Followed by a discussion on the film [25 mins]

Mummy’s Favourite Shoes, C Media
Rotherham, Yorkshire
To be screened at: Sheffield Showroom , 7 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, Yorkshire S1 2BX
Wed 22 Oct with Beijing Bicycle [PG, 113 minutes] DVD Followed by a discussion on contemporary Chinese Cinema by Louise Williams [45mins]

Father and Son, Clapperboard
Liverpool, North West
To be screened at: Liverpool Picturehouse at FACT , 88 Wood St, Liverpool L1 4DQ
Wed 15 Oct with The Devil Came on Horseback, Introduced by a Christian Aid UK representative [15 mins] Followed by a discussion on the issues of development and trade in Darfur as represented in the film [25 mins]

Tyne Traveller, OpenZone City Learning Centre
South Shields, North East
To be screened at: Newcastle Upon Tyne Tyneside , 10 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 6QG
Tue 21 Oct with Persepolis [12A, 95 minutes] DVD Introduced by Amnesty International UK [15 mins] Followed by a discussion on the film [25 mins]

Murder at the Manor, NDCS
Belfast, Northern Ireland
To be screened at: Belfast QFT, 20 University Square, Belfast BT9 6AW
Wed 22 Oct with Paranoid Park [15, 85 minutes] DVD Followed by a Masterclass on the process of film classification, from a BBFC examiner [45 mins]

Freedom Ain’t Free, Chocolate Films, London
To be screened at: London Peckham Multiplex, 95A Rye Lane, Peckham, London SE15 4ST
Tue 21 Oct with Adulthood [15, 100 minutes]

The Singing Banana Bomb, Chocolate Films, London
To be screened at: London Peckham Multiplex, 95A Rye Lane, Peckham, London SE15 4ST
Fri 24 Oct with Hoodwinked [U, 81 minutes]

First Light Movies is delighted to confirm that five short films, made by groups of young people aged between six and 18 from all backgrounds across the UK, will be screened at 35,000ft onboard Virgin Atlantic planes this summer.

The five mini movies will be screened on Virgin Atlantic flights from July to November this year. The films will be shown on the airline’s V port inflight entertainment system, on the Kids TV channel, which offers children a variety of programmes onboard flights to a host of worldwide destinations, such as New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Sydney.

Faye Spiller, Media Acquisitions Executive for Virgin Atlantic commented: "Virgin Atlantic is delighted to be working with First Light Movies to offer these special films onboard. Virgin Atlantic has a reputation for award winning in-flight entertainment offering a wide variety of choice for everyone and we are sure that these mini films will be very popular with our younger passengers."

The five films are: (click on the links to watch the films now)

The Princess and the Pendant, a charming tale, made by 6-year-olds using silhouette style animation, which follows the disobedient Princess Rose as she ventures into Horrid Land against her father’s wishes.

Which Witch? made by eight to 10-year-olds in Yorkshire, is a charming, truly entertaining film that focuses on the antics of two duelling witches who battle it out to see who can out-spell one another.

A group of five to nine-year-olds in Scotland use Munchatreeaforest to objectively explore and discuss the destruction of the Knoydart Forest that makes up much of this area in the highlands.

Two Men and Their Ponies is a charming documentary, made by Welsh filmmakers aged between 16 and 18, charting the lives of Welsh hill ponies in the Brecon Beacons.

Interspersed with funny and tender moments, Lights Out! is a delightful tale, made by a group of 11 to 14-year-olds from Scotland, that focuses on a group of insomniac Orkney seals who can’t possibly get any sleep with the lighthouse glaring all night.

Pip Eldridge, First Light Movies' CEO, is delighted with this new partnership and added, "It's brilliant that the young people's films are being seen as part of the entertainment on Virgin Atlantic flights, alongside their huge variety of films and TV programmes. Not only does this give the films a whole new audience to enjoy them, but we are also hoping to inspire other young people and their families to pick up cameras and have a go themselves".

18-year-old Matt Harris made a few First Light Movies funded films with SeaChange in Great Yarmouth through our Filmmaking Partners scheme and is now starting a media course at university. We recently caught up with Matt again to see what he’s been up to and found out the following:

FLM: How’s the studying going?

MH: Well, in fact my University course starts on the 15 September, so I’m not quite at University yet; enjoying my last summer of supposed `childhood`!

FLM: Have you been involved with any projects since we last spoke to you?

MH: In June I worked as a runner on a short film `Curtains` that should be shown on Film Four in August if Post Production doesn’t take too long. It was a film directed by Julian Barratt (Howard Moon in Mighty Boosh) and Dan Jemmett about a rundown Punch & Judy man living his final days in wild lunacy as his life descends into a world not unlike the puppet show he adamantly maintains. Based in the Great Yarmouth area it was a great taste of the professional side of filmmaking, and allowed me a great chance to work on a project where I could learn some real skills. The only reason I heard about it and got a place was from SeaChange and my experience on previous projects only spurred me on to actively involve myself throughout the production process.

FLM: That sounds amazing, what a great experience. So you are still in touch with SeaChange?

MH: Next week (though that seems to close already) SeaChange is taking us overseas to Portugal where I will actively take part as an emerging artist from the UK. Working with International artists from Portugal, France and Finland we will spend two and a half weeks collaborating on a spectrum of artistic endeavours in order to deliver sensational arts practise to the locals, but then also educate and share each other and our skills.

FLM: You have been busy, anything else planned?

MH: With further projects possibly on the horizon but not concrete enough to speak of, I can only say that I have also set up a website http://www.onlinage.com/ that, although it doesn’t have content at the moment, will soon house my collective work. It will also be a site through which I can add pieces and articles of many different areas of my interest and convey more of my work to a wider audience. It will also take advantage of my basis in the digital medium, with Photoshop, Flash, ETC. to create animations, videos and more.

FLM: Thanks Matt and good luck in University – keep an eye on this space for more news about all our Alumni.

Click here to read the full interview and find out what other FLM Alumni have been up to. If you made a First Light Movies film and are now studying a film or media related course or working with TV and film, we want to know. E-mail gary@firstlightmovies.com with your news.

The deadline for entries to the Cinemagic Young Filmmaker Competition is 31 October. Please send a VHS or DVD copy of your film with a completed entry form to Cinemagic Young Filmmaker 2008, Chris Shaw, Cinemagic, 49 Botanic Avenue, Belfast BT7 1JL. Films should be no longer than 15 minutes. Entry forms and regulations can be downloaded from www.cinemagic.org.uk

The next funding deadline for the First Light Movies Pilot and What’s the Big Idea? Award schemes has reopened for submission.  We are now accepting online applications and you can apply now clicking here

The deadline is 16 September 2008 and the decisions will be announced on 11 November. So if you fancy getting your hands on up to £5,000 to make a five minute film (Pilot Award) or up to £3,000 to develop a story idea and write a script (What’s the big Idea? Award) what are you waiting for? Start inspiring a group of young people and get those creative ideas flowing today!

Looking for inspiration? Then why not watch a whole range of First Light Movies funded films on our website? Click here to see what young people have produced in the past.

Good luck!

Thanks to funding from First Light Movies, a group of young pupils aged five-years-old, from Hartside Primary school in Crook, County Durham, made a short digital animated film last year called The Princess and the Pendant. The film has been chosen by Soda Pictures to be included as an extra on their new family DVD release, Azur & Asmar: The Princes’ Quest.

Written and directed by Michel Ocelot (Kirikou and the Sorceress), Azur and Asmar: The Princes’ Quest was a hit at the London Children’s film Festival in 2006 winning the Young Jurors prize for best film. The film attracted rave reviews on its theatrical release in February 2008 with Empire Magazine calling it ‘a visual masterpiece’.

Azur and Asmar: The Princes’ Quest is a tale of two brothers who’ve have been cruelly separated and grown apart and set out on a dangerous quest to find the legendary Fairy from their mother’s stories. The DVD will be released on the 28th July with a host of extras including Hartside Primary School’s short animated film The Princess and the Pendant.

Using £2,700 of National Lottery money, through First Light Movies funding, the pupils from Hartside Primary School worked with professional filmmakers from Jack Drum Arts to create the fabulous story of the disobedient Princess Rose who left her father’s castle to go exploring in Horrid Land. Influenced by the German silhouette animator Lotte Reiniger, the young filmmakers were involved in all aspects of creating the film from scripting and storyboards to animating and recording the soundtrack.

Pauline Walker, head teacher at Hartside Primary School commented on the film’s success saying, “This is fantastic! The children got the opportunity to work with real artists on a project which required them to work collaboratively and use their imagination as well as develop new skills and more importantly have FUN! The film is a great achievement and one which we are very proud of at Hartside Primary School.”

Kate Gerova, Head of Distribution at Soda Pictures added, “Soda Pictures is delighted that the enchanting The Princess and the Pendant could be included on the DVD. Azur & Asmar: The Princes’ Quest is a truly stunning film and The Princess and the Pendant is a fitting addition to a great package”

Pupils at Balfour Junior School in Brighton, who worked with Shoot it Yourself Productions to make the First Light Movies funded environmental documentary The Amazing Adventures of the Plastic Bag, last night (5 June 2008) scooped the Young Campaigner Award at the prestigious Observer Ethical Awards.

Singer Natalie Imbruglia was impressed by the young people’s innovation and said of the winning entry, "They are making these mini movies so they can reach more people." Acclaimed British actor Colin Firth added, "Kids are doing things which shame us all in a way."

The Observer ethical awards are instrumental in progressing ethical thinking and ideas in the UK. The aim is to reward those pioneering a sustainable future for the country and to recognise the very best products, innovations and schemes that make living ethically achievable.

The Amazing Adventures of the Plastic Bag, made by a group of seven and eight-year-olds, investigates the problems that plastic bags cause to the environment. From interviews with the local vet and fishermen the young filmmakers chart the journey that a plastic bag can make and the harmful effects that it causes. They even capture some rare interview footage with one of the pesky plastic bags, which adds a welcomed light-hearted look at a very serious issue!

The young people involved in the project were delighted with their win. Molly from Year 6 said of her experiences,"Making the film was an unforgettable experience and winning the award made it even more amazing." And Eden also from Year 6 commented, "Making the film was a life changing thing and doing it with new friends and winning an award for it was brilliant."

Click here to visit the young people’s blog in our Lightbox section to find out about their experiences during filming.

To find out more about the Observer Ethical Awards 2008 and to watch a short film highlighting why the young filmmakers won click here.

The strategy, which intends to make film education more accessible to the next generation, was officially launched today (Tuesday 3 June) at the BFI Southbank and nationwide with a special supplement in The Guardian newspaper.

Through the strategy we are aiming to ensure that all young people in the UK have the opportunity to learn about film in all its richness and creative possibilities and demonstrate that film is essential to 21st century literacy.

We live in a world of moving images. To participate fully in our society and its culture means to be as confident in the use and understanding of moving images as the printed word; both are now essential aspects of literacy.

Film: 21st Century Literacy will encourage existing film education providers to work together to offer young people opportunities to watch a diverse range of films; encourage learning, critical understanding, debate and conversation about films; and enable young people to use film as a vehicle for their own creativity.

For more information about the strategy itself, the organisations involved and all future planned events log on to www.21stcenturyliteracy.org.uk or for more details about how to get involved e-mail info@21stcenturyliteracy.org.uk

Sheffield Youth Jury

4Talent and the Sheffield Doc/Fest want young people to tell them what they think makes a good documentary. How you would create a film that changes the way others see the world around them.

Like Smalltown Boy for example: a finalist at last year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest. The story of fifteen year old David who, fed up with being shunned for his sexuality, plans to show everyone that he’s proud of who he is. So he becomes the first male carnival queen in his village.

Now we want young people to have a bigger voice in documentary making – and that’s why we want you to be part of the Youth Jury at this year’s festival where you can select the winner of the Grierson: Sheffield Youth Jury Award. But there’s more to it than that.

If you win one of the 12 places, you’ll spend a week at the Channel 4 Hothouse, learning the ins and outs of the documentary making world. You don’t need any experience, but you must have the confidence to stand up and make your voice heard – so start shouting!

Find out more at channel4.com/4careers quoting reference 4T SDF

Closing date: 26 May 2008

The site, which was designed and built by Birmingham-based company 3Form (www.3form.net) was nominated in the Student category of the 12th Annual Webby Awards in the Online Film and Video section. First Light Movies places young people at the heart of the creative film making process, which is reflected in the site’s Lightbox, a unique online blogging area for First Light Movies funded filmmakers, and the online cinema page which screens up to eight short films made by young people.

This is an unparalleled honour. With nearly 10,000 entries from over 60 countries around the world, this year’s Webby Awards is the biggest in the competition’s history and continues to be the leading international award celebrating excellence on the Internet. Winners are selected because they are the cutting edge of original online film and video content.

The multi award-winning creative design company 3form was established in 1998 with the aim of producing high quality web sites, graphic design and software. Since then they have produced a number of highly successful projects for a wide range of clients, including Vivienne Westwood, Channel 4 and The Victoria and Albert Museum. 3Form’s various awards include the Birmingham Creative City Award for Outstanding Innovation 2006, Best Independent Blog at the Guardian Innovation Awards 2008 and were named a British Council Digital Pioneer in 2007. 3form also designed two other sites that have achieved Official Honouree status at this year’s Webbys.    

Not content with its one Webby win First Light Movies is also delighted that its website www.filmstreet.co.uk, aimed at engaging primary-aged children, their teachers and parents with filmmaking has also been named as an “Official Webby Honoree”. With less than 15% of the 10,000 entries submitted to the awards gaining Official Honoree status this distinction is really worth celebrating.

Pip Eldridge, First Light Movies’ CEO, said of the good news, “We are so pleased that First Light Movies’ website and Film Street have been recognized by such a prestigious international award. At First Light Movies we pride ourselves in placing young people at the core of all we do, especially our websites, and these acknowledgements are testament to the success of our online communication campaigns.”

The Webby Awards is the leading international award honouring excellence on the Internet. The Webbys are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences www.iadas.net, a 550-member body of leading Web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries, writers, editors and creative celebrities.

The First Light Movies website will be honored at the Webby Film & Video Awards on 9 June at Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York!

Congratulations to everyone involved with the site!