Inspiring Young People Make Short Films for BBC

Young talented people from Shetland, the Outer Hebrides, Ross-shire and Moray have been working to deliver inspiring films which were commissioned by the BBC.

Working with ScreenHI, which develops the film industry in the Highlands and Islands, the youngsters have created five short films focusing on the themes of literacy and citzenship.

Elgin High School, the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway, Dingwall Primary, Paible School from North Uist and a group from Shetland were all involved in the BBC Scotland Learning project.

It enabled each group of young people to learn filmaking techniques including researching, using a camera and story structure.

The five-minute long films are currently available online atwww.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00kl3tf/clips. The campaign’s aim is to help and guide other young people in a similar position to give inspiration and support, and may be used for television broadcast in the future as part of a longer programme on both subjects.

ScreenHI is supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Amanda Millen is the Screen and Broadcast Director, she said: “I am so proud of everyone who took part in this project as they put so much effort into it. It will be great to see the films screened at this year’s goNorth showcase which will see a bigger and better screen and broadcast strand.

“As well as delivering creative content on the two themes, ScreenHI was thrilled to be able to secure this kind of invaluable experience for Highlands and Islands practicioners and school and community groups who worked together throughout. In addition to the usual challenges of how to tell a story through the camera, making programmes for broadcast has a very high level of technical specifications.”

Iain Hamilton, Head of Creative Industries at HIE said: “Creative industries contribute both to the economy and cultural life of the Highlands and Islands. Our support for the sector including the broadcasting industry, recognises both its social value and potential to drive economic growth.

“It’s fantastic that the BBC commissioned ScreenHI and that local young people have had the opportunity to get involved. The inspiring films focus on young adults who tell their stories about the impact of leaving school with poor reading and writing skills and how this affects their communication skills and ability to get what they want in life.”

ScreenHI had teams in Elgin, Stornoway, Uist, Shetland and Dingwall to deliver the content.

The programmes will be screened during goNorth 6-7 June, one of Scotland’s largest creative industry festivals held in Inverness.

goNorth has announced the first short film screening programme at this year’s creative industries festival. The films were selected from an open call for submissions for engaging, story driven content up to 20 minutes long.

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