The power of the camera

Encouraging Move

Adobe Youth Voices Aspire Awards’, which was held recently at Chowdaiah Hall, aimed at encouraging young film-makers and acknowledging their contribution to the field.

As part of the event, over 25 films were screened — all made by children from schools in rural or backward areas. The projects that were showcased were based on different issues, varying from waste management, the demerits of smoking and alcohol abuse to the importance of telling the truth, sportsmanship, unity and oneness and more.

Nirmala B, an English teacher with GHS Kadusomappana Halli, comments, “This is a very unique effort. It involved schools from rural areas, where it is hard to get exposure of this sort. When the team came with their crew and equipment, it encouraged the students a lot and they got first-hand experience with the same.”

Nazma Banu, a teacher with GHS Koira, adds, “To hold a camera and get the exposure that the students got — and even for us teachers to get the training and skills that they helped us with — was a huge blessing. It is overwhelming to see our students express their talent on a such a platform.”

Divya Selvaraj, a tenth-grader from Parikrma Humanity Foundation, says, “It was a really helpful experience, as we got to express our creativity and feel proud of ourselves.”

 Nagarathna, an eighth-grader from GHS Kadabagere, adds, “Our main focus was to throw light on issues faced by farmers and voice their concerns through visual media. I’m very glad that I got an opportunity to work on and present my film, in addition to learning the usage of multimedia tools.”

R Sathyanarayan, the regional coordinator of American India Foundation, comments, “When we went to the different schools, we had to start from scratch. We went to the location and trained the teachers in camera work. Then, we went to the students. They were very cooperative and fast learners, which surprised us.”