The INTACH FilmIt programme made its debut in Hyderabad recently. In collaboration with the Helen Hamlyn Trust of the UK, this programme has already achieved success in Delhi, Kolkota, Chennai and Goa, over the past four years.
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Jubliee Hills hosted a workshop for children of Stds. VI, VII and VII from five different schools of the city.
Children from Jubliee Hills Public School, Gitanjali Devashala, Meridian School Banjara Hills, Oxford Grammar School and the host school were introduced to this programme during the workshop.
“The aim of this programme is for children to see and notice aspects of life, which they would otherwise miss in their everyday lives,” says Purnima Datt of the Heritage Education and Communication Service of INTACH. “The children are being trained to use technology, which they are extremely comfortable with, to do something for and with our heritage”.
Mr Paul Clifford representing the Helen Hamlyn Trust conducted the workshop, where he educated the children on the technical aspects of making a small documentary film (of around 2 minutes) to convey the theme that they choose. This programme is part of the Open futures program of the Trust, hence these short films are uploaded onto the open futures website of everyone to access and view.
Save
“The theme chosen for this year's films is “SAVE” - Where we look at saving water, trees, animals, buildings and our intangible heritage which includes our arts and crafts.
The school is given a camera free of charge for the children to use and make these films. Eventually we want to tap government schools and impart this knowledge and these skills to those teachers and children,” continues Ms Purnima.
During the workshop, the children were given time to go around the school and make a short film. The children of Meridian School chose to do a film on the significance of “Nameste. The children of Oxford Grammar School did their practicals on the various herbs found in the garden at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
The children of Gitanjali Devshala presented a film on the “Little things in nature that people don't notice”, while the children of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan made their film on the trees and plants found on their school premises.
Mr Paul Clifford gave the children tips on improving their practical work and also helped them to understand the nuances of making effective films. Somanah Reddy, a Std. VIII student of Gitanjali Devshala says “this programme is new and interesting. I am sure many children in our school will be interested to do something like this”.
Padmaja and Komal of Std. VIII of Bharati Vidya Bhavan said, “We learnt the importance of Heritage through this programme. We were introduced to many new ways to view nature. We have learnt to appreciate the lives of various people in India. We learnt new techniques in which the camcorder can be used and found that this is a real wonderful way to view the world.”
This programme is open to all schools. Contact either Ms Anuradha Reddy @ 9246575745 or Ms Purnima Datt @ 09971612236 for more information.
To view some of the films uploaded onto the website one can log onto www.openfutures.com.
