Several Winnipeg teens had their movies shown to the public earlier this week in an annual film festival.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Tuesday evening, Youth For Christ (YFC) Winnipeg opened the doors for the Film Festival Fundraiser.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Step up from last year<\/p>\n
Ken Sawatzky, film and media program director at Youth For Christ Winnipeg, says it was even bigger than last year. “Last year, we had such a great turnout that we had to fully pack the room and bring more chairs in. This year, we had booked a bigger room and filled it all the way. That was really rewarding to see a lot of the families coming out and the youth bringing their friends.”<\/p>\n
Sawatzky says that films from several genres were shown. “We had ten new films that we got to share throughout the evening with the audience. It was a great turnout.\u00a0We cover comedy to drama to fantasy and a wide variety. We really challenge the youth in a positive way like, can you act this way?”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Memorable moments<\/p>\n
One moment that stood out for Sawatsky was when one actor wasn’t thrilled about his role. “One of the youth didn’t really want to act in a sense that didn’t feel natural to him. And I said, ‘well, that’s why it’s called acting. You’ll get to\u00a0practice being somebody you’re not.’ It was a really good teachable moment as well.”<\/p>\n
The film and media program features two different programs, one on Monday and the other on Tuesday. “One is a homeschool program, which is geared toward students who are homeschool-based. Every Monday afternoon, we meet and we teach storytelling and filmmaking. We had split them into groups so that each group could work on their own story. They came up with the team name, wrote their story, and then the other teams would help them with camera operation, acting or whatever they needed. So they would take turns until everybody had their films shot. Then they would go back to their groups and edit the films. And each group had their own film that they presented in a homeschool group.<\/p>\n
The other group that we have is our Tuesday night crew. They can come as early as 4 p.m. to spend time in a cafe that has hot chocolate and coffee, and they play pong or pool. We meet for supper, do Bible study, and then teach storytelling and filmmaking. We shoot films and edit, it’s quite the process. Some of them are larger projects that take over 20 hours to edit and put together.”<\/p>\n
Excitment leading up to the film festival<\/p>\n
The excitement was evident throughout the evening from start to finish. “It was really quite the build-up because they’ve seen it before, so they know that it’s going to be special. We rented a big screen to play everything on, and we brought in a sound system. We had brought in curtains and lights to really make it look like a movie theatre when they came in. And then we roll out the red carpet and have extra lights set up, taking free portraits of people coming on the red carpet. We tell the stories, share the impact, and give some behind-the-scenes as to what actually happened in order for us to make that happen.”<\/p>\n
Sawatzky says a highlight for him was after the films were shown. “We handed out some awards to people, but not the best filmmaker or the best actor, but to somebody who exceeded expectations or somebody who grew most in the program. So, really character-based awards. The next morning, we got an email from a mom saying how much she appreciated the things and how we care for their youth, because that’s what it’s really all about.”<\/p>\n
Money raised for better equipment<\/p>\n
In place of selling tickets for admission, Sawatzky\u00a0says donations to the program at Youth For Christ were accepted. “It really goes to keep building out the program. It’s still fairly new, only been around about two and a half years. We’re still looking to expand our infrastructure to get better equipment and some soundproofing for a room so that we can elevate the quality of our films. It takes a lot of infrastructure to provide a quality experience. We really strive to offer a high-quality experience for the youth, both in learning the skills as well as learning about the Gospel as well.”<\/p>\n
Importance of prayer<\/p>\n
Sawatzky says a focus at YFC is to be saturated in prayer, including the programs offered. “It’s so important.\u00a0Just because somebody comes in with a smile on does not mean that they’re not struggling, that they’re not carrying something. I found out that if you have a safe space to have a conversation and ask them, you honestly and really care about them, you find out that everybody has things that they worry about or that’s on their mind. Being able to support them in prayer is so important. Just to share the Gospel, we are about storytelling and what greater story is there than the story of God who sacrificed His one and only son for us. We can look at the Bible and all the stories as we learn about God and His love for us, but then also learn how can we tell a story to share our ideas, our concepts with other people.”<\/p>\n