Film/Stage
Wanted: Submissions from 14-18-yr-olds for Faith-Shorts Film Contest
by RICHARD ALLEN GREENE
Last year, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair ran a film contest for young people, inviting them to make films about faith.
His Faith Foundation was overwhelmed by the response: hundreds of entries, from Jews and Christians, Muslims and Hindus, Sikhs and humanists, on five continents around the world.
Buoyed by the success of the first "Faith Shorts" film contest, Blair is now doing it again.
He was impressed not only by the quality of the films, he said, but what they said about the people who made them.
"I think the fascinating thing about young people and the films that they sent us about faith ... is that for them their faith isn't just about a personal relationship with God, it's also motivating them to do things, to get active, to have a purpose in life," he said.
"The quality of the films was exceptional last year and I think we'll get even more entries this year," he said.
It's all part of his vision of religion as a force for good in the world.
"There is a huge motivating force out there called religious faith that does motivate people to do wonderful things, as opposed to what we often read about it doing, which is to produce conflict and violence," he said.
Blair set up his Faith Foundation after leaving office as British prime minister in 2007.
It promotes understanding between religions, with a strong focus on young people.
The "Faith Shorts" contest appealed to Esteban Pedraza, one of last year's winners. A film student at New York University, he made a movie about his mother and his best friend, and how their faith changed their lives.
"Faith is huge for me," he said. "It kinda fuels everything I do, fuels my decisions in life, helps me with hope every day, kinda gives me purpose, so that's why I decided to make a film about faith."
This year, the foundation is accepting films from 14-to-18-year olds, who can choose from among three categories: family, action, or musical movie.
Judges in 2011 include "Slumdog Millionaire" star Anil Kapoor, Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman, and Blair himself. Muslim megapreacher Amr Khaled and Rabbi David Rosen are also among the panellists.
The foundation will accept not only movies made with professional equipment, but even ones shot with cell phones, judging each film based on the equipment available to the filmmaker.
And young people who have an idea but no equipment at all can apply to the foundation to win a portable video camera to make their film.
The deadline is July 1, 2011, and the winners will be flown to London, England, to accept their prizes and work with a professional film crew.
[Courtesy: CNN]
March 10, 2011
Conversation about this article
1: Chintan Singh (San Jose, California, U.S.A.), March 10, 2011, 3:58 PM.
What an excellent idea to encourage faith-based films. I would request the organizers of The Spinning Wheel Film Festival - and the other Sikh film festivals that have spawned from it - to invite Blair to their next event and showcase for him the films on and about Sikhs. It would be excellent for our community to garner his support as he seems to be a proponent of interfaith understanding and films.
2: I. J. Singh (New York, U.S.A.), March 10, 2011, 6:10 PM.
Chintan has offered an initiative and I fully support it.
3: Karnail Singh (Bidston Wirral, Merseyside, United Kingdom), March 11, 2011, 6:35 AM.
I wish I was a 14-18 year old. I would loved to have made a film about war criminals - especially ones who have their eyes on being canonized whilst still alive. But I'm too old now and just don't have the talent. So, I hope that someone will take up the challenge. Sincere good luck and all best wishes to all the contestants.