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Summary: During April, Big Screen Birmingham is showcasing a selection of the nominated films from the First Light Movie Awards. First Light Movies funds and inspires young people, throughout the UK, to produce films that reflect the diversity of their lives.

Telephone: 0121 567 6179

Email: jo (dot) willis (at) bbc (dot) co (dot) uk

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For the month of April Big Screen Birmingham is showcasing a selection of the nominated films from the First Light Movie Awards. First Light Movies funds and inspires young people, throughout the UK, to produce films that reflect the diversity of their lives.

Since launching in May 2001, First Light Movies has helped more than 10,000 children create over 750 short digital films. The following films have been created by youngsters aged between 5 and 18 years old. For more information about First Light visit firstlightmovies.com

We also welcome the return of our Friday and Saturday music nights; showcasing some of the best local musical talent.

The films started going out on the Big Screen on Saturday 31st March; here is this week's schedule:

- Saturday, Monday to Friday @ 10am: Walk this Way, Luv Texty, Spying, Before I Could Remember
- Saturday @ 6.15pm & 8.45pm, Friday @ 8pm: Come Together, 3Face, Satin Dolls, UXL, Compassion, Iodine
- Monday to Thursday @ 12pm: 23 Pieces, Lil Red, Every Street Dreams
- Monday to Thursday @ 3pm: Street Rat, Which Witch?, Darkness Visible, Mothering Nature                       
- Monday to Thursday @ 5pm: Two Men & their Ponies, Personal Demons, Bubbletown, The Princess & the Pendant
- Monday, Tuesday & Thursday @ 7pm: Look Don't Leap, Matrimonoids, The Book
- Monday to Wednesday @ 10.35pm: Kids Today, A Walk in the Park, Buried, Director's Cut

Big Screen Birmingham First Light Season

Awards 2007 - Nominated Films

BEST COMEDY


Walk This Way
Glassball Art Projects, Buxton
This fly-on-the-wall spoof wildlife documentary, made by a group of ten 12 to 18-year-olds, follows a group of rambling tourists in their natural habitat of the scenic Derbyshire countryside. The young people’s dry humor is displayed as they analyze these strange species that appear in packs on the landscape in the summer months with their rambling gear, walking sticks and hiking equipment ready to engage in outdoor activities!

Luv Texty
Valley Community Theatre, Liverpool
When an old fashioned crush meets modern technology the result is Luv Texty. Echoing Cyrano de Bergerac, a young boy is bullied into wooing the hot girl on the block on behalf of his mate but ends up falling for her charms himself. He plagiarizes 19th century poetry to use in his text messages resulting in a surprising and entertaining collision. Luv Texty was made by a group of 15 to 18-year-olds.

Spying
Access Moving Image, Leeds
This hilarious spoof detective documentary follows the slightly geeky, but very likable, Bond wannabe called Stan. He relies on donuts and his mum to help him with his detective work, which essentially amounts to him stalking Sarah; a girl who he fancies. Spying was made by a group of 20 young people aged between 16 and 18.

BEST SCREENPLAY


Buried
Cambridge Film Consortium, Cambridge
This fast paced thriller created by six young people aged 15 and 16 focuses on a group of lads who are chased into a creepy graveyard by a gang of bullies eager to find the ‘grass’ amongst them. The young lads escape into the church only to discover, to their horror, screaming coming from inside a coffin…

23 Pieces
PVA Media Lab, Bridport
Thirty 14 to 16-year-olds created this scientific drama that wraps genetics up with a heart warming narrative about a boy who is seeking his true identity. Whilst growing up Gerald is unsure who his real father is. Following a science lesson at school he decides to piece together an image of what his natural father would look like by using DNA research into his own genetic make-up.


Street Rat
Commbeshead College, Newton Abbot
Street Rat is a poignant live action drama featuring charming animated sequences made by 15 young people aged between six and 18. It focuses on a 13-year-old girl’s time living on the streets with her baby brother after they leave home to search for their mother, a drunk. By day she searches for her mother and by night they sleep in alleys. They are eventually helped when an understanding shop owner offers them food but why is he helping and who is he?

BEST DRAMA


Director’s Cut
Northern Lights Film Festival, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
A surreal take on a film premiere where the director and producer try to capture the perfect scene. We are transported into the world of film within a film and get a fresh look at a film premiere from the Director’s point of view. The result is an interesting juxtaposition between his memories of shooting a scene and what the audience sees. A confident and accomplished film made by just two young people aged 16 and 18.

BEST HORROR


Lil’ Red
The National Deaf Children’s Society, Belfast
Lil’ Red is a group of eight 13 to 18-year-olds contemporary version of the classic fairytale, Little Red Riding Hood. Punctuated with imagery and words from the original story Lil’ Red brings together a world of internet chat rooms and teenage relationships to create a modern day morality tale with a dark twist of an ending.

BEST ANIMATION


Every Street Dreams
Cornerhouse, Manchester
This quirky film, produced by a group of 12 young people aged between 14 and 18, portrays the dreams of some residents of a typical terraced street in Manchester. Through a range on animated techniques, including claymation and computer graphics, the audience peeks at some horrific, funny and sweet unconscious feelings and emotions through glimpses of other people’s dreams.

Matrimonoids
Signal Media Arts, Colchester
This fresh animation by a group of 7 to 13 year olds is reminiscent of an avant-garde music video working succinctly with its innovative soundtrack. With a strong style, the film’s effective black and white drawings transport us to a surreal world of a martian invasion where space ships beam up cows and cars grow legs set against a background of rain and fire.

Which Witch?
Rawmarsh City Learning Centre, Rotherham
Two plasticine witches have been tidied away in their cardboard boxes, but once the door is closed they come alive for a magic duel. A group of 20 eight to ten-year-olds produced this charming and fun claymation film where spells are thrown back and forth between the rival witches, but are they being serious or is this just a typical night of entertainment between two friends?

BEST DOCUMENTARY


Darkness Visible
Living Archive, Milton Keynes
Addressing key issues about stereotyping and mental health, this sensitive documentary made by five 15 to 17-year-olds explores the effect of labeling young people with mental health problems. With insightful interviews alongside strong symbolism this well crafted documentary provides a platform for people to start talking more openly about mental health.

Two Men and their Ponies
Flycatcher Films, Abergavenny
This is the story of the Welsh mountain ponies, told from the point of view of a local recluse, Paul, who is a leading ecologist and former ballet-dancer. Having hung-up his ballet-shoes, Paul now spends his time in the mountains riding mountain bikes which he says is “the best way to see the ponies”. Two Men and their Ponies is a creative documentary, made by a group of eight 16 to 18-year-olds, which aims to explore the ancient bond between man and pony and acknowledge the special place the mountain pony has in the heritage and landscape of Wales.

Personal Demons
Rawmarsh City Learning Centre, Rotherham
A group of young people, aged between 12 and 18, talk about their disabilities as their personal demons. All the participants of the documentary have frustrations in their life that they can’t control, whether it’s a peanut allergy, a physical disability or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Personal Demons was created and produced by a group of 32 young people all of whom have disabilities.

BEST FILM BY 12s AND UNDER
supported by Film Street


Bubbletown
Media Projects East, Norwich
Bubbletown was made by 12 seven-year-olds from Dowson First School. This out-of-this-world animation about Spacekid Sam, which features their own song, is set in 3006 and our hero flies to Saturn to find out how to clean up planet earth.

The Princess and the Pendant
Hartside Primary School, Crook
A group of 21 five-year-olds from Hartside Primary School, in County Durham produced the animated fairytale The Princess and the Pendant. This charming tale focuses on Princess Rose who lies about breaking her father’s rules to go exploring in Horrid Land.

The Book
Calling the Shots, Bristol
This live action thriller is set in Bristol Central Library, The Book is a scarily spooky film created by a group of 10 and 11-year-olds. It’s set in the library where a group of children learn about a ghostly monk that haunts the galleries, but is he real?

BEST FILM BY 13s AND OVER


Mothering Nature
Station House Media Unit, Aberdeen
Mitchell is a lonely man with learning difficulties trying to cope with his mother’s death. The strong influence she has had in his life leaves him with an instinctive kindness and maternal feeling often misinterpreted by modern society. One day he finds a baby… A controversial and thought- provoking film from a group of 14 to 18 year olds.

Kids Today
The Cedar Centre, Brighton
This hard-hitting drama made by 18 young people aged 14 and 15 follows Eric, a boy who’s being ignored by his parents and being bullied at school. He only has one friend, Keisha, who helps him tackle his daily struggle through life and school. Kids Today challenges what the young filmmakers feel the general public’s perception of today’s youth is.

Before I Could Remember
St Basils Shaftesbury House, Birmingham
Before I Could Remember is an amalgamation of abstract images from the young filmmakers’ memories. The beautifully shot pictures are poignantly coupled with fairytales and nursery rhymes presenting dream-like imagery. The film was made by a group of ten 16 to 18-years-old residents at Shaftesbury House, a residential house for young women.

SPECIAL PROJECTS AWARD: FILMMAKING PARTNERS


In addition to the main eight Awards categories, each year First Light Movies creates a Special Projects Award category that includes films made by young people outside of First Light Movies core funding schemes. For 2007 the focus is Filmmaking Partners.

First Light Movies selected one production organisation from each region and nation to become Filmmaking Partners to work with a budget of £50,000 over two years (2005-2006) and develop longer term projects with young people. These organisations partnered with a commercial production company in their region and were also supported by their regional or national screen agency.

A Walk in the Park
Suited & Booted, Bath
A Walk in the Park is an hilarious thriller about a bored park warden who dreams of buying a caravan. He soon stumbles across an offer that appears too good to turn down! This film was made by a group of nine young people in Bath aged 10 to 18.

Look Don’t Leap
Threshold Studios
A short drama that was made by eight 16 to 18 year olds from Northampton, Look Don’t Leap tells the story of Charlie who recalls his happy life at home before his world is turned upside down.
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