DORSET GROUP AND LOTTERY MAKE CELLULOID HISTORY TOGETHER
10.11.2008 17:33:00
A renowned Dorset film festival is reeling after receiving a £10,000 Awards for All grant to develop young filmmakers. It is one of three grants in Dorset and 59 in the South West totalling £401,864 in the latest round of awards.
Purbeck Film Festival Charitable Trust Ltd will use £10,000 to help around 30 children aged 10 to 12 develop original scripts and short films in February 2009, with a gala screening scheduled for late spring. The project – dubbed the Purbeck Film Academy – is designed to build on the South West’s growing reputation as a centre for film in which the Swanage group, organisers of the largest rural film festival in the country, has played a major role.
Andrea Etherington, Project Manager for the Purbeck Film Festival, said: “Filmmaking is a fast growing industry in the South West and is really on the rise in this part of Dorset. Here is our chance to give young people the opportunity to develop their skills as producers, writers, actors and technicians and to give them skills that could translate into a career further down the line.
“There are so few facilities for young children and teenagers in this area, so we want to get kids motivated and help raise their aspirations for the future. Many other children will also be indirectly involved in the project, particularly on our launch night at which we’ll ‘ask the audience’ to vote electronically for the overall best film. If we can develop this enthusiasm for creativity in children we can really create a passion for film throughout the whole community too.”
Also revved up about receiving an award is Bridport Autograss Racing Club, given £10,000 to attract new drivers to the cult non-contact sport which uses converted small cars to race on a soil oval track. The club has around 25 members aged between 12 and 18 and has been designing, building, maintaining and racing vehicles for 15 years, with many former members going on to careers in car mechanics.
John Russell, Committee Member, said: “This grant is about getting more kids involved in autograss racing. It’s safe, fun and a fantastic way to get youngsters involved in something they feel they have ownership of and that they can really excel in. Many of them love the technical and design side as much as the racing so there is something for everyone. With this award we can buy more equipment to cater for new drivers and promote the club across Bridport.”
Also receiving an award is Play Plus, given £4,512 to run a training course for volunteers working closely with children with disabilities.
Awards for All is the small grants scheme administered by the Big Lottery Fund on behalf of Lottery good cause funders, Arts Council England, Big Lottery Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund and Sport England. The scheme makes awards of between £300 and £10,000 to grass-roots community groups and voluntary organisations.
Mark Cotton, Big Lottery Fund Head of the South West region, said on behalf of Awards for All: “Purbeck Film Festival and Bridport Autograss Racing Club are two groups offering unique, life-changing experiences to young people with a view not just to having fun, but to developing skills that can positively affect their futures too. I’m so pleased they are two of 59 receiving funding in this round of Lottery awards.”
Client name: BIG LOTTERY FUND
Business type: PUBLIC SECTOR
Author: Hannah Roberts
Contact author: hannah@montagecomms.com
