Local Students ‘Braced’ For a Future in The Movies as Arts and Business worlds unite!

The ten young people, aged 15-18, had just two days to develop a filmmaking brief from concept to screen under the guidance of Cinemagic and the film was premiered at the closing night of the Cinemagic Film Festival in Odyssey Cinemas Belfast.

The film students had a challenging task to create the film ‘Brace Yourself’, focusing on the thoughts and concerns young teenagers have about getting braces, an issue that Gentle Dental wanted to examine in a creative environment to help communicate with their patients in a new and innovative way.

After a research morning involving 90 pupils from both schools, the dental practice was transformed into a film set for the project, with all of the staff taking on starring roles in the film! The initiative allowed the young film students to research an important youth issue, allowing them to work as a team and express their opinions as well as develop an understanding of the filmmaking process.

Heather Carr, Business Manager, Arts & Business NI said “It is fantastic to see a local business working so well in partnership with an arts organisation to develop a really innovative solution to promote their business. We look forward to supporting them again in the future”.

Adam Jaffa, Managing Partner, Gentle Dental, said “Gentle Dental came on board as a first time sponsor of Cinemagic and our teams worked closely together to develop a mutually beneficial partnership. Cinemagic were able to reach out to the target market of young teenagers, the group that we wanted to engage with, in a fun and meaningful way. We were incredibly impressed with the enthusiasm and talent from the young students”.

Joan Burney Keatings, Chief Executive, Cinemagic said “The project allowed Cinemagic to develop young people’s skills in filmmaking but also in areas such as team work, communication, decision making and working to a deadline, skills that are transferrable in the school environment and in the future when the young people enter the workplace. The initiative illustrated how business and the arts can successfully work together to achieve common goals”.

To view the film visit www.cinemagic.org.uk / www.gdconline.co.uk  or at the following link http://vimeo.com/113715215

Ends: Press Information: Claire Shaw, Cinemagic Press & Marketing Officer, 028 90 311 900 / [email protected]