ACT Young Lives competition is a huge success again

We are delighted to report the ACT Young Lives film competition was a huge success again at the Colchester Independent Short Film Festival, held at the Curzon cinema, with 11 films being short-listed for the final showing.

The filmmakers, aged between 16 and 18, are from local educational institutions, such as the Sixth Form College Colchester and the Colchester Institute, who are studying films and have big ambitions for the future.

Many of these inspiring films reflected their experiences and challenges in the modern world, such as coping with social media pressures, bullying, living with ADHD, mental health problems and dealing with toxic masculinity.

The winning entry was from Chantilly Nunn and Lashe Salako, called Pressure – which was all about dealing with exam pressure.

They were awarded their £300 prize by the ACT Trustees on the night and were delighted with the praise they received on the night, in front of the 60 strong audience:

“The idea of creating a relatable short film about issues that effect us and our peers was very appealing to us.  We had many different ideas at first, but as we were dealing with exam stress ourselves and struggling to balance all of our revision as well as our personal lives it felt topical and right to make our short film about the pressure put on students, in a time when we already have so much on our plates (learning to drive, applying for unis/next steps, first jobs, social and family life).” 

They said they felt happy they were able to raise awareness about the pressures young people are under, and how overwhelming their adolescence can become, as they are aware of the amount of exams young people have to take.

“This is currently under review by the government, so it’s an ongoing issue in education. The festival itself was so exciting – being able to attend was an amazing experience in its own right, and even more incredible with our film being screened in a cinema!!

“We were ecstatic to receive first place, and our statue, certificates and big cheque, red carpet, interactions with other filmmakers and seeing everyone’s films on the big screen all added to this ‘pinch-me’ moment.

“It was very inspiring attending the festival and winning first place, and has compelled us to make more films together in the future and enter into various film festivals and given us even more confidence to pursue careers in filmmaking.”

The runner-up in the competition was India Hanson, who created the film Hidden. The judges were very impressed with the bravery of India to tell her story about living with ADHD and the hidden feels she needs to deal with to cope with the pressures of life.

India was unsure about making this film, and completed it in the end thanks to the help of the volunteer filmmaking mentors who supported her as part of this project, which ACT encouraged wholeheartedly.

She will also receive a £75 reward as part of this award.

The third prize was won by Jane Raymond for her film Alright. The judges liked this film because it was so joyous and reflected the lighter side of life for young people, who know are heavily into the Battle of the Bands scene that is thriving in Colchester at the moment.

In particular, they were impressed that they used original music from a local band called Bad Nerves, which really gave a boost in energy to the full production.

You can watch here all the films played at the festival this year and last year.