Festive Cheer for UK's Young Filmmakers Thanks to GBP100,000 Lottery Bonanza

Festive Cheer for UK's Young Filmmakers Thanks to GBP100,000 Lottery Bonanza

LONDON, December 29/PRNewswire/ --



- 29 films to benefit from seasonal funding including a Romeo
and Juliet-style musical, the adventures of a boy who dreams of meeting
Britney Spears and a comedy thriller about a mobile phone with evil
intentions



More than 400 young people across the UK are full of festive
cheer thanks to GBP100,000 of National Lottery funding enabling them to make
and star in 29 digital short films. The funding from First Light, the UK Film
Council's young people's filmmaking initiative was announced today.



The films cover a wide range of stories including 'Young
Sainttts', a 'Romeo and Juliet' story with a breakdancing theme; The Elusive
Cheviot Bushmonk, a comedic search for a legendary inhabitant of the
Northumberland Moors; Hex, a fantasy animation about a boy who discovers he
has magical powers; Flashback, a comedy horror set in (and made by) a school
for dyslexic students; and Taking Over, an animated thriller about a group of
children who find and reassemble a smashed up mobile phone but unwittingly
revive an evil force.



Projects in Motherwell, Edinburgh, Stirling, Gwynedd,
Bridgend, Middlesbrough, Northumberland, Stockton-on-Tees,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Swindon, Colne, Bristol, Lewes, Essex, London and
Reading will all benefit from this Lottery funding.



First Light enables five to 18 year olds across the UK to make
short films under the guidance of professional filmmakers. Young people learn
a range of filmmaking skills, including scriptwriting, producing, editing,
acting, sound, lighting and directing. First Light also helps to improve
their communication and team working skills.



The 2005 First Light Film Awards, the annual celebration of
the best of First Light filmmaking, will take place on February 23rd 2005 at
the Odeon West End, Leicester Square, London.



John Woodward, UK Film Council Chief Executive Officer said,
"It's great that more than 400 young people across the UK will be able to get
their first taste of filmmaking thanks to this Lottery funding.



"First Light gives young people the chance to let their
imagination run wild and channel their creativity into making films while
learning valuable skills.



"Several of the young people involved in First Light projects
have gone on to win awards for their work - this funding means that more
young people from across the UK will have the chance to follow that success."



Pip Eldridge, First Light Chief Executive Officer said,
"Judging by the wide range of exciting themes covered by the UK's young
filmmakers, 2005 is already shaping up to be a memorable year for First
Light."



To date, First Light has enabled almost 8,500 young people to
work with organisations and filmmakers to write, act, shoot and produce over
550 films covering a myriad of topics and genres, using digital film
technology.



List of funded projects attached.



www.firstlightmovies.com www.ukfilmcouncil.org



Notes to Editors:




1) First Light was launched in May 2001 to fund and inspire the
making of short digital films, reflecting the diversity of young
people's lives. First Light is an initiative supported by the UK Film
Council with Lottery funding and managed by Hi8us First Light Limited.

2) The UK Film Council is the lead agency for film in the UK
ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film
are effectively represented at home and abroad. We invest Government
grant-in-aid and Lottery money in film development and production;
training; international development and export promotion; distribution
and exhibition; and education. Our aim is to deliver lasting benefits
to the industry and the public alike through:

- creativity - encouraging the development of new talent,
skills, and creative and technological innovation in UK film and
assisting new and established film-makers to produce successful and
distinctive British films;

- enterprise - supporting the creation and growth of sustainable
businesses in the film sector, providing access to finance and
helping the UK film industry compete successfully in the domestic
and global marketplace;

- imagination - promoting education and an appreciation and
enjoyment of cinema by giving UK audiences access to the widest
range of UK and international cinema, and by supporting film culture
and heritage.




List of funded projects (Round 11)



NORTH EAST



Glendale Gateway Trust, Northumberland



The community development trust will work with a ten-strong
group of 13 to 17 year olds to make The Elusive Cheviot Bushmonk. This live
action comedy, which was awarded GBP3,100 by First Light, follows a respected
environmentalist as he sets out across the Northumberland Moors to find the
legendary Cheviot Bushmonk.



The Barnardos Secos Project, Middlesbrough



Up to eight young people aged between 15 and 17 years old will
produce a modern drama about relationships, told from the perspective of a
teenage girl. The film Loverboy has received a grant of GBP4,000.



ARC, Stockton-on-Tees



The Arts Council / local authority funded arts organisation
will help thirty 12 to 18 year olds create Tales From The Tees. This comedy
drama tells the tale of a young boy who escapes the troubles of teenage life
by fantasising about having an alter-ego, called Teesman. Teesman, who is
part cool-dude and rapper, part sensitive geek, has earned the project a
grant of GBP4,000.



Bridge and Tunnel Productions, Newcastle-upon-Tyne



A group of eight Persian young people, aged between 11 and 16
years old, will make Kooch Kids with their grant of GBP4,000. Kooch Kids
('Kooch' meaning 'migrant' or 'nomad' in Persian) will be a docudrama
exploring stories of migration.



SCOTLAND



Macroberts Arts Centre, Stirling



Young Sainttts, to be created by up to twenty 10 to 16 year olds, will use
Romeo and Juliet as its inspiration. The dance-influenced romantic comedy
features two rival factions. Gibby, the leader of 'The Young Saints' falls
for his opposing leader's sister, leading to a potential explosion of
violence. Can the suggestion of a 'dance-off' avert gang warfare between 'The
Young Saints' and 'The 3 T's'? The project was awarded GBP4,000.



Media Education, Edinburgh



A nine-strong group of 12 to 18 year olds will make the
fantasy animation Hex. Using their grant of GBP4,000, the group will produce
a story about Daniel who discovers he has magical powers. Daniel is soon
forced to use his powers against an evil demon hellbent on destroying him.



FPS Media, Motherwell



The media facility will produce Fast Forward, a selection of
four films with 36 young people aged between 12 and 18 years old. The first
will be a black and white slapstick film made in conjunction with Earnock
High School's Deaf Unit. Accommodated Young People, a group of young people
in care, will create a thriller about an individual with psychic abilities.
When the individual prevents a fatal accident, will society embrace him or
will fear exclude him even further? The third film, made with Sanderson High
School, will chronicle a boy's adventurous dreams, which include meeting
Britney Spears. The final film, to be made with Drumpark School, will be an
animated comedy drama about healthy lifestyles.



WALES



Cwmni Tref Caernarfon Cyf, Gwynedd



The animation Rafins will be created by up to 12 young people
aged between five and 11 years old. Using mainly Welsh dialogue, the film
takes its title from the Welsh name for 'scallies.' First Light funding for
this film is GBP3,400.



Valley and Vale Community Arts, Wales



Eight under 15 year olds will work on Turn It Up, a drama about Asif, a
young man from Africa living with his aunt in Cardiff. Due to constant
bullying about his clothes and struggles with the English language, Asif
dreams of telling his persecutors, through hip-hop, about his history. Turn
It Up will be made with a grant of GBP4,000.



LONDON



Tribute Trust, West Dulwich



Tribute Trust, which creates arts programmes for young people,
will work with 20 young people aged between 10 and 18 years old on
Snorkelboy. This romantic comedy is about a bubble blowing boy in a
snorkelling outfit. First Light funding will be GBP4,000.



Independent Photography, Greenwich



On Da Endz will be a thriller produced by 20 young people aged
between nine and 14 years old. The story follows a gang on an estate and the
crime that one of them perpetrates. The grant received by Independent
Photography, the digital media facilitators, for this project was for
GBP4,000.



Chocolate Films, Clapham



Almost 100 young people aged between 13 and 18 years old will
work on four films. The total grant for these films is GBP20,000.
London/Africa is a drama inspired by contemporary African art, in particular
the Africa Remix exhibition at London's Hayward Gallery. The issue-based
drama A London Anthem will be shot in real-time on a South London council
estate. Battersea Park will be an experimental animation inspired by the
famous London park - the young people will work with Katy Dove, a
contemporary video artist who currently has a solo show at the Pump House
Gallery. The final film, Writing With Pictures, will tackle issues
surrounding dyslexia.



Queens Park New Media Centre, Queens Park



Two groups of eight young people, aged between 13 and 16 years
old, will make two films each, covering two themes. The first theme, titled
Stress Test, looks at media coverage of teenage mental health and depression.
The second theme, Park Bench, will result in animations based on a favourite
communal area for teenagers, the park bench. The grant for all four films is
GBP14,000.



SOUTH WEST



Nyland Special School, Swindon



Making Choices will be made by an eight-strong group of ten
and 11 year olds. This largely improvised drama will tie in with an Emotional
Awareness Week that the school is running. The school has received First
Light funding of GBP4,000.



Action Time Vision Co-Operative Limited, Bristol



The suspense drama Break will be realised by a team of ten
young people aged between 12 and 18 years old. They will create a real time
drama about a woman who awakes to find her house being burgled. When she
realises the intruder is only 12 years old, what does she do? First Light
funding for the film is GBP4,000.



NORTH WEST



Zumamedia Arts Ltd, Colne, Lancashire



Up to 11 young people, aged between ten and 17 years old will
produce the animated drama Journey Of The Mitre. The film, which has been
awarded a grant for GBP4,000, follows the path of a football as it makes its
way down a hill, pausing to note the characters and events it passes on its
journey.



SOUTH EAST



Northease Manor School, nr Lewes



Flashback, a comedy horror, will be set in Northease Manor
School - a school for dyslexic students. A team of eleven 15 and 16 year olds
will film the story that is set in the school's Great Hall. The Hall is
rumoured to be haunted, a fact that attracts an intrepid group of students.
They stumble across a message that they're unable to decipher due to their
dyslexia. However, when bones are discovered underneath the floorboards the
day after, does that message hold the key to the mystery? The film received a
grant of GBP4,000.



Reading Borough Council, Reading



Over 50 five to 11 year olds will work on two films that have
received GBP8,000 of funding. Is It Really Better? is a comedy drama set in
what appears to be a deserted school apart from a group of initially
delighted students. The absence of adults then begins to concern the
pupils...Taking Over will be an animation about a group of young people who
unwittingly find a mobile phone with evil powers.



EAST



Brentwood Performing Arts Group, Essex



Twenty-four young people will work to create Destiny, a comedy
docudrama about a mother and her son, who wants a toy gun. The mother sees
the gun and imagines her son growing up to be a soldier. Consequently, she
decides to buy him a chemistry set instead. Years later, we catch up with the
son, who has discovered the formula that leads to the creation of the world's
largest nuclear explosion. The grant for the film is GBP4,000.



Source: UK Film Council

Keith Gabriel, First Light, Tel: +44-(0)121-693-2094, Mobile:
+44-(0)7958-985-395, press@firstlightmovies.com; Caroline Nagle, UK Film
Council, Tel: +44-020-7861-7508


-------
Profile: intent