austraLasia #2973
Thanks to BOSCOCrew, Malta!
SLIEMA: 29
December 2011 --
An enterprising youthful Salesian FIlm Crew, BoscoCrew, has
produced an
excellent and creative Christmas video clip which can serve,
this year,
as austraLasia's Christmas wish to all its readers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iZsiDklfoI&feature=youtu.be
The
aim of the BOSCOcrew production centre is to evangelise
through the
media, and at the same time to give the young members of the
group the
opportunity to develop their skills in useful ways. This
Christmas
video is a good example of how they operate.
BOSCOCrew
has had a number of success this year. On 16 January in Sliema
the
official presentation took place of their first short film
dealing with
the problems of isolation, mental handicap and the
complications
arising especially for young people.
Written by Matthew Alfino and directed by James Spiteri, the
film is
entitled “Stembah!” which is Maltese for “wake up!” The
video, 10
minutes in length presents the real-life situations
experienced by
children, when for various reasons they are forced to live a
part of
their lives in childrens’ homes and shows how in these
situations the
ability to respond is essential.
After being
named among the best three socio-religious programmes
broadcast on
Maltese Television, “Stembah!” was then placed by the
organisers of the
Cannes Festival in the short film corner.
This
coverage considerably increased the chance of this short film
being
selected for other international festivals and at the same
time exposed
the talent and ideas of the young people in the BOSCOcrew to
potential
partners or distributors. Fr Eric Cachia, who coordinates
BOSCOCrew,
thinks the film is a winner. “Firstly, we put people’s
talents to good
use while making the film, but we’re discovering that through
this
medium, we’re reaching out to kids who otherwise would not
bother with
discussions or the Church.”
Two follow-ups are in the pipeline, but the Stenbaħ! producers
aim to take it to other festivals.