Up to 60,000 young people, mostly male, may be stabbed and injured each year, the equivalent of more than 160 victims a day. This finding by the Telegraph is based on worst-case estimates concerning knife violence in England and Wales.
Head First Films and Haphazard Media, founded by St Andrews University graduates, are making a film about knife crime aimed at young people and the education sector. The film companies' founders decided to produce the film after one of their fellow undergraduates was killed in a knife attack in 2006.
The film, titled Wondaland, will look at how knife crime affects the children of a broken family and the members of a gang in an English city.
The team is working with co-producer Robert Graham of Graham Associates to gain investment from private and public sources for the modest £30,000 budget. The filmmakers tell me that MPs, agents and accountants have offered support.
With The Telegraph's figure of knife crime affecting an incredible 400 victims each week, a workshop pack to be distributed with the film in schools and colleges is timely and will help raise awareness of knife crime issues among those most directly involved.
The producers have yet to raise the full amount needed for this worthwhile project; anyone wishing to offer support may contact nicholas.crum@headfirstfilms.co.uk
Head First Films and Haphazard Media were founded in 2005 in Scotland. Head First makes high value films on low budgets, and has several feature films in development. Haphazard Media
recently won the Half Cut Film Festival with the short film Tape 04, and is in pre-production on a documentary about human rights abuses in Iran. Haphazard Media combines Scottish creatives with collaborators from round the world to work on socially-minded film productions.
Wondaland's director, Rhoda Dell, said,
"With anger being expressed more frequently through violence, many have argued that these images have been learnt through media and films, so why not use this same tool to re-educate those so easily influenced in today’s society? film is so integral...both (for)a sense of escapism and as an educational tool. If we provide examples of violence through today’s cinema, surely we can retract them too?"
Monday 8 June 2009
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1 comment:
A great article. We are production accountants and I am co-producer on this short but very important educational film. We are taking no fee for that work.
I also wanted to point out that the film production company Wondaland Film Ltd is an approved Enterprise Investment Scheme. That means any private equity investment will get a 20% tax credit. i.e. £10,000 investment cuts £2,000 of an investors tax bill. In the event that a profit is made all gains are tax free. Feel free to contact me for more details.
robertgraham1@aol.com
www.graham-assoc.co.uk
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