Arts
HFC Kalutara prefects give voice to youth issues through video
Endless were the hours they spent, bringing real-life scenarios to the screen – the story of a lonely depressed teenager, a ballerina struggling to find the true meaning of friendship or a youth facing exam pressure.
Nadeeja Perera
Rev.Sr. Charitha Thandalge
Teenagers themselves, the Senior Prefects’ Guild of Holy Family Convent, Kalutara was conscious of their social duty as young leaders to address the recurring issues faced by young people in society today.
Head Prefect of Holy Family Convent, Kalutara Nisali Uththara spoke of their vision behind the school’s 25th prefects’ project, explaining that the team wanted to initiate something meaningful which conveys a message to people. “We had discussions since May on different ideas related to teens, possibly to invite an influential teenage figure to deliver a speech to the school or to organize a friendly netball tournament,” Nisali said.
When the 19 senior prefects finally listed 12 social, cultural, physical and psychological problems frequently faced by adolescents, they decided to highlight each problem through 12 different video clips.
Issues of teenage addiction to pornography, teen pregnancies, teenage affairs and break-ups, exam pressure, drug and alcohol addiction, friendship issues, isolation, sexually transmitted diseases, conflicts between teenagers and parents, pre- marital sex, negative perspectives on life and how to face life’s challenges are projected in the video clips through short films, speeches, discussions, dialogues, songs, drawings and posters.
The project aptly named as “O2 for Teen Soul- Moto Therapy Center,” is indeed an attempt to provide ‘oxygen’ for the teenage soul as Nisali further explained. “We try to say through the videos that problems are always common among teens. But every problem has a solution.”
With the hope of shedding light on teenage issues and proposing possible resolutions, the prefects wish to spread the message across schools all over the country. “At the end of each video clip, references are cited on centres and help-lines from which teens could seek support in case of a life problem,” Nisali noted.
Senior prefect, Masha Kevitiyagala is also a member of the school’s Media Unit. Writing the script for one of the short films of the video series, she themed it “Friendship”. According to her the project was the result of tremendous team work, coordination, and respect for each others’ ideas.
Nisali Uththara
Bimanshi Uththareesha
Masha Kevitiyagala
Invitations to write scripts on the topics were opened to the entire school and a two day workshop held in June for the selected script writers on creative directing, cinema and cinematography.
Filming was done at the school as well as in outside locations – Kalutara beach, and Anantara Hotel, Kalutara. “We mostly did the shoots during the school holidays in August and on weekends,” Nisali said. The characters were acted by the students of the school along with few other invited casts.
“Some days we would come to school at five in the morning and work on the project till ten or eleven at night. Parents would come and stay at the school till we finished,” the school’s Deputy Head Prefect Bimanshi Uththareesha mentioned the commitment of the parents with extreme gratitude.
Prefects were grouped into the teams of creative directing, production, costume and promotion to work on the videos. Bimanshi was a part of the creative directing team that composed a mash-up song video. “When teens are depressed with the problems of parents, they get addicted to anti-social activities, or in worst cases, commit suicide. We wanted to encourage teens to understand their parents,”Bimanshi expressed.
Despite all the hard work put into the project, “we all had fun during the filming of the videos,” Masha said enthusiastically while Nisali and Bimanshi nodded in agreement.
The project is backed by the dedicated academic staff of Holy Family Convent, Kalutara, Principal Rev. Sr. Priyanthi Jayathunga, Deputy Principal and teacher- in-Charge of the Prefects’ Guild, Rev. Sr. Charitha Thandalge and teachers Nadeeja Perera and Poorna Wickramasinghe.
There are only 19 senior prefects, but they have the capacity and strength and as teachers if we help and guide them, they will do marvellous things, Rev. Sr. Charitha said.
By introducing this project to every school, conveying the message that every teenage question has an answer and every teenager should have a target and a meaning to their lives, the school hopes to get assistance from the Ministry of Education in the future.
Writers and translators Chulananda Samaranayake and Tharangani Resika, Nimali Jayasuriya, Consultant – STD Unit, Nagoda Hospital, Kalutara, Malka Thushari, O.I.C Probation-Women and Child Bureau , Mahinda Namal, teacher at HFC Kalutara, journalist and lecturer were the resource persons who delivered the speeches and discussions for the project.
| “O2 for Teen Soul” will be on YouTube too | |
| The video, “O2 for Teen Soul” will be launched at Holy Family Convent, Kalutara and will be released on YouTube on September 27. A special screening will follow on October 1 as a part of the school’s Children’s Day celebrations. An open invitation public show for parents and well wishers will be held on September 29 at the main hall of Holy Family Convent, Kalutara. |