Young, creative changemakers of the world
YOUNG FILMMAKERS
Donations and patronage help us keep entries free for UK’s marginalised filmmakers, charities and filmmakers from Ukraine.
It also helps us keep the screenings free of cost for millions of viewers from across the world.
NOTE
PATRONS receive exclusive privileges from VVIP tickets for the gala awards ceremony of the 2023 Big Syn International Film Festival (10th Nov 2023, Curzon Mayfair), naming awards to dedicated webpages and many more.
DONORS get the chance to win a ticket to the gala awards ceremony of the 2023 Big Syn International Film Festival (10th Nov 2023, Curzon Mayfair).
Remy Oktay
Silent Skies follows the groundbreaking journey of three Pennsylvania college students who orchestrated and piloted the first ever fully electric airplane stadium flyover. Stunning fans with a whisper-quiet show, this event signaled the dawn of America’s transition to electric aviation. The students completed a record breaking trip flying the airplane from its base in Hartford, CT to the stadium in Easton, PA, recharging at enroute airports directly from a fleet of electric F-150 trucks.
The air travel industry faces an unprecedented challenge: decarbonization. Historically, new aviation technologies are met with consumer skepticism. Demonstrating electric aircraft today, ahead of widespread adoption, is key for building consumer trust, political support, and sustained investment.
The flyover was witnessed by 10,000+ attendees, thousands more on ESPN+ and created a precedent for the FAA to approve manned electric aircraft demonstrations over populated areas. Textron Aviation and Ford amplified the event through their social media channels and the film premiered at San Francisco Climate Week.
Oliver Freeston-Wilkes
This film serves as a bridge, connecting those directly impacted by the Ukraine/Russia war with the average ‘non-affected’ citizen who struggles to grasp the true depth of the conflict’s reality. The complexities and brutalities of the Russian invasion can be overwhelming for individuals not directly involved. By immersing an ordinary citizen in the heart of the war zone, the film offers a unique perspective that goes beyond what is typically presented in mainstream news.
Through the lens of an everyday person forced to confront the harsh realities of war, viewers gain access to a level of understanding that transcends the polished reporting of traditional journalists. This unconventional approach provides an unfiltered and raw view of the conflict, making it more relatable to a broader audience. It humanizes the experience, evoking empathy and forging a deeper connection to the people affected by the war.
In essence, the film’s purpose is to narrow the gap between the distant and often sanitized portrayal of the Ukraine/Russia war and the raw, human experience of someone thrust into its midst. It aims to make the seemingly incomprehensible aspects of the conflict more accessible, fostering empathy and awareness among viewers, regardless of their prior familiarity with the situation.
Rebs Fisher-Jackson
At this year’s International Youth Media Summit, filmmakers and delegates from around the world came together to use film as a means to combat seven global issues; ‘BYSTANDER’ is this year’s anti-discrimination short.
The ‘BYSTANDER’ team started the creative process by sharing why we wanted to create a film about discrimination – coming from over six different countries, we all had different experiences with facing discrimination and we wanted to make a film that explored this. The most common theme that arose from sharing our stories was the importance of allyship: there are many people who actively choose to stay silent and not use their voices to stand up for marginalised people because it ‘doesn’t affect’ them or they’re sure that ‘someone else will help’. Yet it is because people choose to stay silent that discrimination is allowed to prevail.
‘BYSTANDER’ takes its name from the ‘Bystander Effect’ social theory that explores this. The film showcases six different forms of discrimination and in each instance, the ‘Bystander’ actively chooses not to use her voice and interrupt her morning jog.
Whilst by no means an exhaustive list, ‘BYSTANDER’ showcases multiple forms that discrimination can take and shows the consequences that can happen if we let silence win. Ultimately, ‘BYSTANDER’ encourages audiences to identify what different forms discrimination can take in their day-to-day lives whilst reminding them to stand up for others: collective voices have power but so do those who speak up individually in the face of discrimination.
Olz McCoy
Created for World Parkinson’s Month this short documentary tells the story of a painter, photographer and musician and how they overcame the physically debilitating Parkinson’s Disease and managed to continue pursuing their creative profession, despite the adverse challenges presented to them in life.