Wency, 16; Mareza, 15; Jericho, 14
These kids made a remarkable achievement in their young lives when they have been privileged to participate in the 13th Seoul International Youth Film Festival last July 7-13, 2011 held at Seoul, Korea.
They represented the country after winning the very 1st Kabataan sa Bisayas Media Festival that was held in Tacloban City last May 20-22, 2011.
They treasured back with them a fruitful weeklong learning experience from Korea as they were exposed to different workshops concerning youth filmmaking such as scriptwriting, storyboarding, acting, directing, filming and editing. Their mentors came all the way from Holland, China, Sweden and including the entertainment luminaries from Korea itself.
They have met not only outstanding teachers who had exposed them to the latest and state of the art equipment in filmmaking but also made friends with their co-young participants who still came from different parts of the world. The youth delegates for the said event (96 to be exact) still came all the way from Finland, India, Japan, Denmark, Norway, China, South Africa, USA, Hongkong, Ireland, and South Korea including the Philippines itself.
These kids did not even come from affluent societies. They just came from the remote area of Samar and Cebu provinces. Just like me, they are simple kids with big dreams.
Using the tactics in handling basic gadgets like video and digital cameras gained through
the media literacy trainings by Plan and Anak TV, the knowledge and skills acquired brought them to the international arena where they shared various issues of children in their communities through their produced video clips. Back home, they promised to continue their crafts of stirring the interests of everyone by applying the lessons learned from Korea through more video productions.
Looking back, I wish I had the same experience as they had when I was younger. It could have helped me more today not only to become a better Communication student but as well as a better person who had been exposed to a higher level of knowledge in filmmaking.
These kids can be our inspiration to strive for excellence and higher purpose in life no matter what kind of conditions we belong with.
Prepared by:
Patricia Molina
LNU-ABCom Intern
Photo credits: Wency, Mareza and Jericho
