Hackney young people celebrated for anti-smoking films
Over 300 young people, teachers and youth workers from across Hackney celebrated the creativity and imagination of local young people at the Hackney Cut Films 2015 Awards at the Rio Cinema, Dalston.
The awards, held on Monday 29 June 2015, celebrates the filmmaking talent of over 1,100 young people, who have made short films to persuade their friends and family not to smoke. The awards celebrate the best films of the borough, with the top 15 winning films shown out of 134 submitted.
The competition, run by Cut Films and funded by Hackney Council, asks young people in Hackney schools and youth projects to research smoking and tobacco, make a two minute short film about the issues associated with youth smoking, and upload it to the competition website and share it on their social media for their friends to see.
The Overall Judges’ Choice winner is Dempsey Miah (Hackney Community College), with his film ‘Smoker’. The Overall Popular Choice winner is New Hackney School with their film ‘You Are Your Own Monster’.
Young filmmaker Mickel Babatunde (aged 12) said: “Our film is about the effects that smoking can cause. We enjoyed Cut Films because we were able to express our creativity and I liked that it gave us an opportunity to have our voice heard.”
Paula Brocki, Leader of the core department, Hackney New School said: “Cut Films have provided an excellent opportunity for our students to excel in an area that they wouldn’t necessarily have had a chance to learn about, like film-making. It gives students a voice through film production and gives them a chance to have their voice heard on issues that affect them. A truly enriching experience for the students involved.”
We’re making great progress in reducing rates of smoking in Hackney, but far too many people still take up the habit, with many starting in their teens. It’s so important to involve young people in educating their peers about the dangers of tobacco, which is why we’ve continued to support Cut Films. I’m delighted that so many young people have taken part this year and that the standard of film-making is so high. Congratulations to our local winners and all those who took part and supported the project this year, and best of luck to those who have been shortlisted for the national awards.
A professional filmmaker from Cut Films supported teachers and youth workers to create the films with young people, taking the film production process from script to screen.All films in the Hackney competition have also been entered into the National Cut Films competition and two have been shortlisted to be screened at BAFTA HQ on 1 July 2015.
The films the pupils have made are varied and cover a range of tobacco-related issues. The children worked in small filmmaking groups, with some exploring the issue of peer pressure and others tacking the health effects of smoking. There is a wide variety of styles represented in the students’ films from comedy to spoken word.
Find more information at www.cutfilms.org/Hackney.
Notes to Editors:
For more information about Hackney Cut Films contact:
Emma Wrafter
Charity Director Cut Films
emma@cutfilms.org / T: 020 7700 3701 / M: 078179 42689
About The Deborah Hutton Campaign and Cut Films
The Deborah Hutton Campaign is a peer-to-peer smoking prevention charity. Our short film and social media project, Cut Films, educates young people about smoking in a creative way. The Campaign works in partnership with Government, local authorities, schools and youth groups to deliver targeted smoking interventions.
The Deborah Hutton Campaign was set up in memory of Deborah Hutton who was health editor at Vogue for over 20 years. In 2004 Deborah was diagnosed with Stage IV advanced lung cancer. She died eight months later aged just 49. Deborah smoked when she a teenager, tried her first cigarette when she was 12, smoked regularly from 17 and gave up aged 24. Cut Films is her legacy.