Whether it's stewarding at a festival, writing for a magazine, or producing works of art, volunteering for creative projects is bound to get those juices flowing.

All | Carl | Jessica | Catherine | Rhiannon | Mei | Gaby | Enlight Youth Group | Centrepoint

Wednesday Jun 01, 2011

The Bafta event

Hello, it's Helen - Do-it blogs editor here. I'm posting this on behalf of Centrepoint as I had the pleasure and privilege of going to the final event to watch the film that the volunteers produced. I also had the chance to hear them talk about the experience and have collected some photos from the team to give you a taste of the evening. 

The film One Step Away that you've heard about in most recent posts in the Media and Arts blog was put together by a group of volunteers as both a learning and awareness raising exercise. The volunteers had the opportunity to work with professional mentors and it really was an all-round rewarding experience.

The most impressive part of the film in my opinion was most certainly the characterization. The volunteers involved had created stories and people based in part on personal experiences and I could certainly relate to the issues that the film depicted. What happens to a young person who has experienced domestic abuse and needs to find a new home urgently? What happens to a young person who is fully independent and can no longer afford to pay their university fees and is trying to hold down two jobs? What happens to a young person who's best source of advice is from a stranger on the street? Through my work for Do-it's sister website, TheSite.org - I've heard about young people in our online community experiencing these scenarios and so it's great to see them being dramatized in this way. 

Finally, it was really great to hear the volunteers talk of the benefits in terms of working alongside BAFTA members, award winners and practitioners. This was an unexpected opportunity for many of them who gleaned experience in camera work, acting and writing and a reminder of how valuable volunteering can be for all involved.  We also had the pleasure of hearing one of the volunteers play a live acoustic version of a song from the film that he produced and has now been signed to Round House for. (pictured above) Also, if you've never been to BAFTA, it's a great venue and my colleague spotted Jonathan Ross' wife on the way out!

Posted by Centrepoint ( 12:32 PM )
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