In the past, we (Congo Helping Hands) have purchased Flip video cameras for the doctor at the hospital and the headmaster of the girls school. But today, I was inspired to start a film project at the Bulape High School. It will be interesting to see what two rural Congolese high schoolers would capture about their life.
My inspiration came from watching 11 short films produced by the high schoolers at the Heartland Film Festival. The winner's film highlighted the suffering on a young boy in Haiti after the earthquake. This year theme was hope. And next year's theme is courage. Hope and courage are essential survival skills for my rural poor high schoolers in Congo.
Heartland Truly Moving Pictures announced the winners of the inaugural Heartland High School Film Competition today, honoring aspiring, young filmmakers from across the country.
Grand Prize winner John Gordon of Dallas, Texas took top honors with his film Clay. Gordon’s short film embodies the 2010 Competition’s theme of HOPE and tells the story of a boy trapped in the rubble after the Jan. 12, 2010 Haitian earthquake. By recalling happy memories, the boy strives to hold onto hope in order to stay alive.
“My short film takes place during the traumatic event of the Haitian earthquake, and was made to instill a quiet sense of hope in the audience,” said the now 18-year-old Gordon, who was a senior in high school when he made the film.
Comments