Reelise Film Festival for 12-18 year olds

The Reelise Film Festival is a new youth mental health and anti – cyberbulling initiative. The aim of the festival is to turn what is often the cyberbully’s instrument of choice – the mobile phone, into a device of empowerment, through which young people are able to share their stories, inform the community about the issues affecting them and inspire positive change. This is certainly a creative solution to a problem affecting one in five teenagers. In essence, it’s a free mobile phone filmmaking program for young people who reside in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney, culminating in a youth film festival. The project is sponsored by the NSW Police Force, Woollahra Municipal Council, Community Creators, Holdsworth Community and the Black Dog Institute.

There are three components to the Reelise project.

A Filmmaking Program. Student film crews who register by 13 September 2013 will be assigned a REELise mentor to provide them with insights on how to make moving and effective short films. This will be complemented by workshops hosted in the Apple Store focusing on creative applications available on the Mac including editing in iMovie or Final Cut Pro. The program will commence in the September school holidays and is free to participants. It is open to students aged 12-18 years. Some of the mentors already on board are Duncan Thompson, Rowan Woods and Jacquelin Perske.

REELise Revolution Week. In the week commencing 28 October, primary and secondary schools will be asked to take part in the “REELise Revolution” by engaging in a number of activities designed to promote greater awareness about cyberbullying and its impacts. Students can actively support the REELise program by engaging in a Digital Detox in return for sponsorship – laying down their phones for 48 hours (2-3 November) and connecting with family and friends in other ways.

A Youth Film Festival. Completed student films can be entered in the REELise Film Festival competition and be in the running for a range of great prizes including “day on the set” experiences with Australian film and television productions. At the discretion of REELise Inc, student films will be screened on our website to attract “People’s Choice” voting and then showcased on the big screen at an outdoor community festival to celebrate the achievements of our filmmakers and confer prizes in March 2014. Entries must be films captured on a mobile phone, made by filmmakers aged 12-18 years; and address the theme “Unspoken Feelings”. All entrants receive a certificate of recognition.

Important dates for the Reelise Film Festival

13th September 2013 – Deadline for registration of student film crews for the mentoring program

14th October 2013 – Deadline for registration of your REELise Revolution Day for speaker allocation

28th October – 3rd November 2013 – Reelise Revolution week

14th February 2014 – Deadline for film submission in REELise Film Festival Competition

For more information head to www.reelise.org.au