ACT's Young Lives Film Competition - win a £300 prize

(Picture above – last year’s winner – Eva Jones)

We have launched a new film competition, in association with the Colchester Independent Short Film Festival and other local filmmakers, which invites young people, between the ages of 11 – 21, to submit a 2-3 minute film that reflects the challenges and problems they have faced during their lives.

The top five films will be shown at a special showcase event held at the Curzon cinema in Colchester in May 2025, as part of the Colchester Independent Short Film Festival.

We want to learn about the issues young people experience, so we can share them with health professionals in the voluntary and statutory sectors, who can help work out ways to address their problems in the future.

Please submit your initial ideas, via email, to us ASAP and we will advise you on your next steps.

For example:

  • A young person might just want to talk about the struggles they feel about the future, in terms of climate change, long-term ambitions, job prospects and the cost of living crisis.

  • They might have experienced physical and social media bullying at school and they want to share how it made them feel, to empower other people who have been through the same experience.

  • We are also interested in young people with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, or any other condition they want to raise awareness about how they see the world.

  • A film could be made about a young carer, telling their story about looking after a loved one.

  • Or maybe a young person just wants to share an experience that was important to them.

We want to support young people with expressing how they feel, so others can learn from them. Films can be made using any kind of technology, including an iPhone or another kind of mobile phone.

At ACT, we care about how young people feel and want to help improve their lives.

The Colchester Independent Film Festival and other filmmakers we are working with have the same ethos as us, which is why they teach young people about the art of filmmaking, to improve their health and well-being.

If you have an idea, please get in touch.

You might even just want to talk about your concept. so we can help you to shape it.

Even if you want to present your suggestion in a different format, such as a poem, a piece of art, or a short written story, we still want to hear from you.

We can discuss the idea with you and connect you with experienced filmmakers, to help you make your film.

We will hold a prize giving ceremony at the Colchester Independent Film Festival, to be held at the Curzon in May 2025, and a £300 prize will be awarded to the winner. However, other prizes will be awarded too.

To find out more, please register your interest in the form below and we will guide you further from there. We encourage you to get your idea and film in ASAP so the judges have more time to appreciate them. You can email us too about any questions.