East Belfast special school students win award in London for short film

The short film was inspired by the students' personal stories about bullying

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A group of schoolchildren from an East Belfast special school took home a prestigious award at a ceremony in London.

The young filmmakers from Park School were all smiles as they took to the red carpet at the iconic Odeon Luxe, in Leicester Square, for the Into Film Awards yesterday, June 24.

Their film, Superhero School, won the Best Film (age 12-15) award, sponsored by Paramount Pictures and presented to the pupils by Irish actor, director, writer and producer Sharon Horgan. The eleven young people created the comedy superhero short film with a meaningful message about bullying in just under three months at the end of last year.

Pupil Sofia gave the group’s acceptance speech saying they couldn’t believe they were standing on the massive stage in front of the huge audience.

“We feel really proud and happy. We want to say a big thank you to Into Film for giving us the chance to be creative,” she said.

Park School, based on the Ravenhill Road, is a co-educational school for children with moderate learning difficulties. Teacher Jon McKinley, who organises the school’s filmmaking activities, said the inspiration for the film came from real-life experiences.

“Several students in the class had personal stories about bullying, and they wanted to use film to turn something difficult into something powerful. From there, the creativity took off,” he said.

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The 12 and 13-year-old pupils travelled to London with their principal Bernie Davis and teacher Jon McKinley to attend the award ceremony hosted by BAFTA-winning actress and presenter Rose Ayling-Ellis.

Their winning film is set in a superhero school where every child has a unique power. The story follows a rivalry between two speed-powered students – Speedy and Quicklight. When Quicklight steals Speedy’s supercharged trainers, Speedy is left moving in slow motion.

But with the help of classmates, the trainers are recovered, and Speedy regains his power. In a surprising twist, Speedy chooses forgiveness, befriending Quicklight and restoring harmony to the school.

The Park School pupils weren’t the only Northern Ireland stars of the day. They were joined by representatives from St Colmcille’s High School in Crossgar, who were awarded Filmmaking Champion for their efforts to integrate filmmaking across the curriculum. Their award, sponsored by Lucasfilm Ltd, was awarded by actors Elizabeth McGovern and Celyn Jones.

St Colmcille’s teacher Victoria Polly said: “We are absolutely delighted that the hard work and dedication of our pupils and staff has been recognised by Into Film and are so excited about this award. Our young people have faced a range of challenges in recent years.

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"We have witnessed an increased number of pupils seeking support for anxiety and mental health concerns, which are exacerbated by the current economic and social climate. Against the backdrop of dwindling budgets and a cost-of-living crisis, our young people have experienced a significant reduction in the provisions and opportunities for challenging creative skills. It is inspirational to watch our young people letting their imaginations sing and we are privileged to work with them.”

A third Northern Ireland group, from the BFI Film Academy, was nominated for Best Story. The 18 and 19-year-old filmmakers from Belfast, Holywood and Antrim created Tragicake, a short, heartwarming film about perseverance and learning from past mistakes.

The Into Film Awards, supported by the UK film industry and funded by the BFI with National Lottery Good Cause funding, celebrate the creativity of young people in film and spotlight the storytelling talents of the next generation.

This year’s Awards received a record number of entries from across the UK. Into Film believes that every child should be given the opportunity to learn hands-on filmmaking skills and express their stories through film – the core mission of its Young Creatives programme.

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