GFS Platform – Islington Project came 3rd in last years secondary category of the Childnet Film Competition. Based on the title ‘What does a perfect online world mean to you?’ the 8 young women who created the film tell us why they entered, what inspired them and how they came up with the theme, genre and storyline for their film.
Why did you decide to enter the Childnet Film Competition 2014?
The competition sounded fun and we were keen to represent our views on cyberbullying. This competition was an opportunity for us to be creative and learn about the positive and negative effects of social media.
The theme last year was ‘what does a perfect online world mean to you?’ Can you explain how you used this theme to create your film?
The issue of cyberbullying and selfies is so common with girls. We felt that a lot of girls receive a lot of negative messages when uploading pictures on social sites like Facebook and Instagram. Some comments can be very hurtful especially if you are trying to be different.
Planning and coming up with the plot for a film can be really challenging. How did you decide on the genre and story for your film?
We were able to relate to the competition brief as some of us were experiencing a lot of first hand negative effects of social media and we wanted to have a voice to express our concerns on how to make online usage more safe. We had fun utilising our skills and taking the lead to create this story.
The title of your film was #Inspireme. Did you aim to inspire others with your film?
Yes, because a perfect world to us is for young women to raise each other’s self-esteem, young women to set up fashion pages and signpost people. We want young women to feel inspired and to not feel scared to be different ….our message is embrace your identity.
Your filming style is really unique. What techniques did you use and why did you choose them?
Some screens were improvised as we wanted the dialogue to look natural . We used a lot of close up camera angles so the audience can capture the facial expression and emotions.
If you could provide one piece of advice for all those budding film makers out there what would it be?
Our advice is to be creative, just go for it and have fun!
To see the amazing film from the GFS Platform – Islington Project visit: http://childnet.eightarms.co.uk/resources/film-competition/2014/secondary-category-winners
Childnet Film Competition 2015
The Childnet Film Competition 2015 is now open for entries! If you are a school or youth group looking to shake up your e-safety education then this is the chance to get creative whilst teaching young people how to stay safe online. There are some great prizes to be won including film kits for your school and the chance to have your film shown on the big screen at the BFI London.
To enter visit http://childnet.eightarms.co.uk/resources/film-competition/2015 or email [email protected]. The competition closes on Friday 12th June.
