ACDA launches Summer Season of Film Screenings

In communities where dire poverty and joblessness leaves children and young people with no place to go and nothing to do all day, particularly in the school holidays, the ACDC not only brings the opportunity to have some fun and be entertained, but also the possibility of change and a life outside of their circumstances.

Now in its third season of screenings, the ACDC Film Club is pioneering a space for young people from the poorest of communities to take a step out of their situations and experience a whole new world through film. In just a few short months, this ground breaking social cohesion project has become a powerful motivator for change. The ACDC Film Clubs have embraced the possibilities film offers in tackling the issues of joblessness, skills development and social enterprise. They offer youngsters a safe environment to learn, explore and be enthralled.

Bringing family together

Each season the film clubs in Dobsonville, Ivory Park, Alexandra, Westclare, Protea Glen, Evaton and Hillbrow have the opportunity to organise and host a film screening aimed at the youth in the area. This season the ACDC film club focuses on bringing the family together and the young audience are invited to bring their families along with them to enjoy these film screenings together.

"The Summer Season of films is about bringing parents, educators and youth together to explore the narratives of the films on view so together they could find ways of overcoming challenges in their social environments, developing membership of the clubs and consolidating the Film Clubs Project as a critical development intervention in the lives of communities," says ACDC founder and co-ordinator Benjy Francis.

The ACDC Summer Season also sees the introduction of the Champions of the Clubs, the project's next exciting development. The role of a mentor in these young people's lives is critically important to making the types of changes needed in our society. In the coming weeks every club will be assigned a champion, a prominent member of the film and entertainment industry, who will become a mentor and a friend to them, actively encouraging, supporting and believing in them.

Films to be screened

Films featured in this season include Love Does Grow On Trees (England, 2008), Street Cars (Mozambique, 1995), One Shoe Short (Australia, 2007), Wagah (Germany/India, 2009), Antonia (Brazil, 2006), Finding Neverland (USA, 2004), Kau La Poho 2 (Lesotho, 2011) and The Wooden Camera (South Africa, 2003).

Each screening will be preceded by a three hour creative art workshop on visual narratives. These workshops hope to engage the youngsters in learning about film and the creative disciplines that go into making films. The artworks will be exhibited for the families to enjoy and the feature film will follow lunch.