KELSO FILMMAKERS CELEBRATE FESTIVAL
The young people of the Kelso Youth Project are celebrating not one but two film premieres at this year’s Berwick International Film Festival.
A group of ten budding filmmakers spent part of their summer holidays making a film with Edinburgh based professional filmmaker Martin Smith. The screening of their film ‘All my Friends are Dead’ on Saturday 20th September in competition for the Chris Anderson Award was the first time the young people had seen their film on the big screen and was its international premiere.
The work on making and watching film is a part of the Kelso Youth Project’s programme which is divided into 5 strands and offers young people aged 9 to 18 years activities, events and projects in the arts, music, film, physical activity and well-being. The project has already made 8 animated films and this film is the first made with actors and on location; and judging by the enthusiasm of the young people for this type of project it will be not be the last film made in Kelso.
David Harvey Chair of Cheviot Youth which runs the Kelso Youth Project was delighted with the success of this film project ‘I wholeheartedly congratulate all the young people involved in this film project for their success in getting nominated for the Chis Anderson Award and for their hard work, team work and enthusiasm for the world of film’. Anja Raeburn, a Kelso Youth Project youth worker working with the young people on the film said ‘they were a wonderful bunch of young people; a delight to be with and great fun. It was such a good team’. Young Filmmaker Leon Hodgkinson said ‘ I enjoyed all parts of the film making; it was good that we could do the sound, camera work and direct; then we all contributed to the script and had a chance to act in the film’
These High School pupils were joined at the Young Filmmakers Showcase by another group of young people aged nine to eleven from the Kelso Youth Project who have just completed their first film. The film called Scary, Stupid, Love is a comic love story about a time travelling talking car, two star struck lovers, a power crazy evil stepmother and her equally evil daughter and a plan to take over the Scottish Borders.
The Primary six and seven group working over two weekends have managed to write, direct, act and produce this film in only 18 hours. Helped by experienced film maker Tom Swift and staff from the Kelso Youth Project the group worked hard and showed excellent team work to produce this film in such a short space of time. Speaking after the film was completed Tom said ‘It was incredible and quite inspirational work with this group of young people as they let their imaginations run wild to produce a film unlike any other film project that I have ever been involved with; I think that they should be very pleased with what they have produced’
Both films were well received by a packed and appreciative audience at The Malting’s Berwick with the young filmmakers very excited at seeing themselves on the big screen for the first time. Plans are already underway for a packed programme of film work for 2015.
For more information about the film work in Kelso and to be put on the Kelso Youth Project mailing list please email