Artswork, the charity that empowers children and young people through creativity, has released two powerful short films co-created by young people on the Isle of Wight, working with professional filmmaker Bruce Webb.
The films are the first in a series of youth-led films entitled LISTEN UP!, made by Artswork as part of Creative Island’s CAN YOU HEAR US? programme. Both films started with the provocative question: ‘If adults were listening, what would you tell them?’
Peta Rainford, placemaking creative producer with Artswork said:
“I am incredibly proud of all the young people involved in these films, for their honesty and hard work. I am also grateful to all the adults and organisations that supported them, for trusting the young people and listening to what they had to say.”
In ‘Do You Understand Care?’, five children use their personal perspective to challenge adult perceptions of the foster care system through interviews with social workers and each other, using animation and puppetry. Audience feedback described the film as ‘moving’, ‘informative’, ‘insightful’, ‘honest’ and ‘powerful’.
Rosie Lister, Head of the Isle of Wight Virtual School, said:
“Providing the children we care for with the opportunity to shape the services that support them underpins Children’s Services on the Island. As a Virtual School we were thrilled to be able to collaborate with Artswork to give our young people a platform, whilst also developing skills and opportunities to enable and inspire. We are so proud of all the young people involved.”
In the second film, a drama called ‘Unheard’, set in a fictional school, students at Medina College ask teachers to listen more to their students and see beyond behaviour to better understand the issues young people are facing. The students were involved in all aspects of the filmmaking, from scriptwriting to acting, and from camera and sound to writing the original music. Again, the film has been very well received and was described by the preview audience as ‘amazing’, ‘powerful’, ‘inspirational’, ‘eye-opening’ and ‘fantastic’.
Anna Mursell and Katie Sandiford, joint Heads of School, said:
“We could not be more proud of the heart, creativity, and dedication our students poured into this project. Witnessing their courage to share such a raw, honest message has been incredibly humbling. A project of this quality takes immense support, and we are deeply grateful to the dedicated professionals and staff who helped bring it to life.”
Filmmaker Bruce Webb said:
“It was incredibly rewarding working on the two films – seeing young people change over the course of the development, production and post production process and become more confident with the equipment, speaking in public and being able to express their feelings to adults and have their work seen to a wider audience was brilliant. Many of them expressed an interest in working in the arts, which may not have happened had the films not been commissioned. Projects like this which give young people a voice are incredibly important in today’s society of increasing isolation, letting them be heard and knowing that they are being listened to is clearly something they really found exciting”
You can watch both films via the Artswork website:
- Unheard: https://artswork.org.uk/news/unheard-film
- Do You Understand Care? https://artswork.org.uk/news/do-you-understand-care
They will be shown at the LISTEN UP! youth-led film festival later this year, as part of Creative Island’s CAN YOU HEAR US? programme: a six-week celebration of creativity and culture taking place across the Island from 11th September to 24th October. More exciting information to follow!
