‘Wasted’ Film Première

On Friday, 25 June 2010, the first ever screening of the short film ‘Wasted’ took place at the Odeon Cinema, Victoria Square, Belfast.

Written and directed by a group of young people from the Kilwilkie Estate, North Lurgan, the short drama revolves around local boy Shae, on cup-final day.

Filmed with the support of Cinemagic, the film focuses on life within the estate for Shae and other teenagers living there.

The film is only one element of Co-operation Ireland’s Young Leaders project. Those involved in the film were selected to participate in the overall project, which is designed to prevent young people from engaging in anti-social behaviour.

The young people, who have been identified as potential young leaders of the future, began the programme approximately 6 months ago and since then have been involved in a range of activities which improve their motivation and personal development, through media skills training and anti-sectarianism and anti-racism workshops.

The next phase of the project will see the young people participating in an internship programme in companies such as premier football clubs and global banking institutions.

Peter Sheridan, Co-operation Ireland’s Chief Executive said,

“The rationale behind this challenging project is to reach, re-engage and motivate those young people who may not have the opportunity to use their leadership skills in a positive way. We realise that there are neither quick fixes nor easy solutions but we are committed to a long-term programme geared toward the needs of these young people.

“I am delighted with the final film produced. We have seen at first hand what young people can achieve when they are given guidance and support. I hope that through the Young Leaders project they can aspire to great things and they will act as role models for other young people in their community”.

Cinemagic Chief Executive Joan Burney Keatings said, 'Cinemagic is delighted to be involved with the young people of Kilwilkie. Over a series of weeks the young people created and filmed a short drama piece around the events taking place on cup final day. Under the guidance of industry professionals, and the BAFTA winning director Kevin Hewitt, they approached the entire process with a fantastic and professional attitude, working long hours and yet never a complaint to be heard. As a result of this the group have gone on to work on other cinemagic activities'.

An article describing this project appeared in the Sunday Life on July 18 2010. You can view a PDF of this article here (3 MB PDF file).