Discovery Festival Films in Shetland
The Discovery International Film Festival for Young People will visit Shetland with two public screenings at the beginning of November, thanks to a partnership between Shetland Film Club and Shetland Arts. Hailed by Creative Scotland as Scotland's leading youth film festival, Discovery Film Festival is thriving in its 8th year. Based at Dundee Contemporary Arts, and touring to 18 partner venues throughout Scotland, the festival screens films from all over the world which have been specially programmed for young audiences. The Shetland screenings are supported by grant aid from the Shetland Arts Fund.
Louder Than A Bomb is a film about passion, competition, teamwork, and trust. It’s about the joy of being young, and the pain of growing up. It’s about speaking out, making noise, and finding your voice. It also just happens to be about poetry. Every year, more than six hundred teenagers from over sixty Chicago area schools gather for the world’s largest youth poetry slam, a competition known as "Louder Than a Bomb".
Founded in 2001, “Louder Than a Bomb” is the only event of its kind in the US: a youth poetry slam built from the beginning around teams. Rather than emphasize individual poets and performances, the structure of “Louder Than a Bomb” demands that young people work collaboratively with their peers, presenting, critiquing, and rewriting their pieces. To succeed, teams have to create an environment of mutual trust and support. For many kids, being a part of such an environment—in an academic context—is life-changing.
Louder Than A Bomb chronicles the stereotype-confounding stories of four teams as they prepare for and compete in the 2008 event. Hopeful and heartbreaking, the film captures the tempestuous lives of these young people, exploring the ways writing shapes their world, and vice versa. The film carries a 12A certificate and will be screened at the Shetland Museum and Archive on Friday 4th November at 7.30pm
Fun and creative shorts include a dragon made from spinach; a mouse with big ears looking for his perfect owner; a little girl who's sending her wishes to the stars; a storyteller who’s forgotten the story and Fluffy McCloud, the rain cloud who just wants to be liked.For younger children there are Shorts for Wee Ones 2011, a brand new collection of vibrant international short animated films. Last year’s screening was very popular with young audience members and this one looks to be just as inspiring. Shorts for Wee Ones is a 50 minute programme of short films, all of which are non-dialogue or in English, so even though these stories come from as far afield as India and Brazil, they are perfect for even the youngest visitors.
This collection of colourful stories is a treat for children age 3+ and a fantastic introduction to the cinema experience. The screening will take place at the Shetland Museum and Archives on Saturday 5th November at 2.00pm.
Tickets for both events are available from Shetland Box Office at Islesburgh, 01595 745555 or on-line at www.shetlandboxoffice.org or on the door, subject to availability.
