Oscars film making competition open to young people in Suffolk

Celebrities and movie stars graced the red carpet at the 87^th Academy Awards in America last night, and now young people living in Suffolk are being encouraged to enter the county’s very own ‘Oscars’ competition.

The ‘Live Well Suffolk Oscars 2015’ are now open for budding film makers aged 10 to 18 from schools, colleges, youth clubs and young people’s projects across the county. The task will be to make a short film which focuses on the tobacco, sugar or technology industries and the impact they have on health and wellbeing.

This is the fifth year running that we have organised the popular Oscars competition. New for 2015 is the ‘Health Improvement Project Challenge’ which will recognise the efforts made by young people to improve the health in their school or organisation. Entrants will just need to submit a short video diary explaining what their project was, why they started it and how it helped to improve the health of their community.

As our School and Young People’s Projects Co-ordinator, Ali Clements is organising the exciting event. She said: “We’re very excited to be launching the Live Well Suffolk Oscars 2015. The competition really captures the imagination of young people and gives them an opportunity to learn more about healthier lifestyles, while improving their understanding of the importance of being physically active and the dangers of smoking and eating too much sugar.

“With the addition of the Health Improvement Project Challenge this year, a number of schools in the county are already working on and developing schemes that they can enter. Example projects are aiming to encourage pupils to drink more water and increase the number of students eating breakfast. Schools are also running health fairs and offering voluntary Carbon Monoxide testing in schools to discourage smoking.”

We will be on hand to offer support to groups throughout the competition. Everyone who enters will have access to ‘Operation Smoke Storm’, an interactive programme that looks at how the tobacco industry operates and the huge profits they make. We can also provide workshops, mini assemblies and various resources to build up knowledge about the other topics too.

The winners will be announced at a glamorous red carpet event at the magnificent Wherstead Park mansion near Ipswich on Thursday 9^th July.

39 films were entered into last year’s Oscars competition and the prestigious ‘Best Overall Film’ award was won by the Waveney Young Film Makers for their impressive entry titled “Technology – the end of activity.” Their film saw main character Jennifer travel forward in time to a world where people were living glued to their screens – they hadn’t spoken to each other or played any sports in decades.

To enter the Live Well Suffolk Oscars, you must register your interest by Friday 27^th March. As soon as you sign up you will be able to access Live Well Suffolk’s support materials and various workshops the team are happy to run. Completed films must then be submitted via YouTube by Friday 5^th June.

For more information, please contact Ali Clements on 01473 229295, or visit www.livewellsuffolk.org.uk/oscars.