Lights, camera, action for Town Hall

17 budding young filmmakers from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Los Angeles came together on the Causeway Coast to create the short movie as part of Cinemagic International Film Camp.

The residential film camp, now in its third year, used the Corrymeela Centre in Ballycastle, Ballymoney Town Hall plus Castleroe and Coleraine as well as local young people from Barazina Performing Arts, Balnamore to produce the film called ‘The Mantle’ over just five days.

The film camp participants, who have never met as a group before, took on different roles in the process and were be mentored by industry professionals including, Director Michael Lennox (Hives, The Back of Beyond, Absence, Coming Up), Director of Photography, Ian Fox, (Night at the Museum II, The Incredible Hulk, Face/Off) who also worked as camera operator on The Amazing Spider-man and filmmaker Mark Jordan, who will workshop the young people in areas such as camera technique, on set-etiquette and story development.

Earlier in 2012, Cinemagic delivered its fifth festival in Dublin and its third series of festival events in Los Angeles, at Hamilton High School, where two of the young film camp participants attend, and Cinemagic has developed a strong relationship with the school community there.

Joan Burney Keatings MBE, Cinemagic Chief Executive said: “ With support from our funders we are delighted to be embarking on Cinemagic’s third international film camp and offer young filmmakers from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Los Angeles the chance to work together as a team to produce a short film. Not only will they learn practical filmmaking skills, but they will have the opportunity to work with people from different cultural backgrounds and this will help develop their inter-personal skills as well as a develop a deeper and new understanding of cultural difference.

Judith Hamilton, Community Relations Council project officer, said “Cinemagic’s International Film Camp is a great opportunity for young people from different communities in Northern Ireland, and beyond, to engage with and learn from each other’s cultural experiences as part of a creative training programme. The interactive teamwork within a diverse cultural environment should produce greater respect and understanding of difference and reflect the values of tolerance and social inclusion.”

The short film will be screened at Cinemagic events in Belfast, New York, Los Angeles and Dublin.

* ‘The Mantle’ explores the story of a young boy, a passionate and talented pianist who loses his father in a tragic farm accident. Overcome with grief the young boy is forced by his mother to leave school and take over the management of the farm. The film follows his struggle and his quest to do the right thing versus trying to pursue his dreams.