Secondary Students Get Intro To Film

Third and fourth formers of the Parkinson Secondary School got an introduction to films created by young Barbadian filmmakers at the recently held Film Screening Showcase facilitated by the National Cultural Foundation (NCF).

The attentive audience of mainly female students, accompanied by their Teacher and well-known local Actor, Victor Clifford, viewed a number of prize-winning gold and silver entries from the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) 2014 competition and interacted with the Directors/Editors on site about themes and techniques.

Ms. Annette Nias, the NCF’s Cultural Officer for Film and Photography and the coordinator of this showcase remarked, “The main objectives of the Secondary Schools Film Screening Showcase were to create an appetite for filmmaking in schools, to encourage participation at NIFCA and in the long-term to position film as a viable career path for these young students.”

She added, “This is the youngest of the disciplines under the NCF’s purview and through our workshops over the last few years we have unearthed a lot of hidden potential within these shores.  The Film industry in Barbados is ripe for development.”

The Filmmakers shared their experiences with the students and gave tips on working with small budgets, casting, storyboarding, sound, editing, Animation, the importance of gaining permissions to avoid legal ramifications and choosing the right location.

NIFCA first-time filmmaker and silver awardee, Heather Brathwaite-Jones told the group of teenagers to find their passion and go with it.  She also mentioned that in film you need to have an open mind, be able to adapt and to think on your feet, recognising that things would not always go as planned, but change is good.

Among the films scheduled for viewing last Friday, February 13 were: Fallen Empire, a NIFCA gold awarded documentary by Anton Nixon and Melanie Grant; The Wait a short fiction by first-timer and silver award winner Heather Brathwaite-Jones; Farm, a silver awarded documentary by Neil Marshall, Clish Gittens and Jason Russell; Fighting Traffic Runaway, a silver awarded music video by Jason Cobham and Ian Smith; and Auntie, another gold awarded fiction by Ian Smith and Lisa Harewood.