Latest news for the award winning animated docuumentary, "I wish I went to Ecuador" made by 630 children in Hull
Synopsis
An immersive, animated documentary taking you into the heart of the Ecuadorian rainforest. A child’s eye view of a life changing expedition by their teacher, Mrs Jones and their joint mission to preserve these vital forests. Presented in Cinemascope surround with surround sound. Pupils at Bricknell Primary School collaborated with animator David Bunting and local campaigning organisation, One Hull on Rainforest to create this animated campaign film.
“A terrific commentary on climate change and its devastating impacts upon our planet” Al Gore
Screening at their opening gala! on 27th April along w another short film from the Field Museum of Natural History "Restoring Earth". I've been told a group of young cyclists will be there who are biking across the USA to raise funds to purchase rainforest land to protect! Wow!
Friday, April 27, 7:00 PM, Greeen Carpet Gala, Oak Park Conservatory, 615 Garfield St., Oak Park, IL and Sunday, April 29, 11:00
AM, W. Beye Elementary
School, Oak Park, IL
5Point Film Festival,
an adventure film
festival based in Aspen/Carbondale. 26-29th April
We took the pupils who made this film to see "This is Cinerama" at the National Media Museum and inspire them about wide screen cinema, so it's fitting the film is screening on Europes only cinerma screen as part of the 60th anniversary of Cinerama! Treats and surprises from the world of widescreen cinema are promised, with clips, short documentaries and those special touches that make Sunday morning at the Widescreen Weekend so special. I will be there to present the film.
The film, which has been receiving awards from around the world caught the eye of Al Gore. He explained:
The film tells the story of the life changing expedition of their primary school teacher, Mrs Jones, to the Andes, the Cloud Forest and the Rain Forest and charts her realisation that she needed to do something to help preserve it. Victoria says the experience has changed her life for the better.“Little did I think when I stepped onto that plane [to Ecuador] that it would turn out like this. I was just going to go away for two weeks, have a good time, find out a few bits about another country and it’s just changed my life, for the better, and hopefully it’s going to change loads of lives, it’s going to change the way we think about our role. It’s going to change the way that children, who live in an inner city area can make a difference to children right on the other side of the world.”
One Hull of a Rainforest aims to raise approximately£250,000 to purchase and protect 100 hectares of land which lie at the heart of the Maquipucuna reserve.
Natasha Banke from One Hull of Rainforest says the global attention is “absolutely incredible” and stresses the organizations message is vital for people outside across the world. “It isn’t just about people in Hull making a difference. It’s about people globally making a difference. “Hopefully people from all over the world will now look at our website and learn more about One Hull of Rainforest and maybe schools globally will start something similar to what we are doing in Hull.”
The film is now being shown at some of the leading environmental film festivals worldwide and can be viewed on YouTube.
Other major news:
Hot off the heals of the award success at Kids for Kids UK, "I wish I went to Ecuador" (Bricknell Primary School) was awarded the coveted BAF award for Best Film by Young Animators on Saturday. BAF received more entries this year than ever before for this award and the competition from around the world made this award truly special.
The jury of distinguished animators Barry Purvis, Linda McCarthy and Irina Margolina said:
We were so impressed by the epic cinematic quality of this film, not only with its glorious colours, but with its inventive technique. On top of this was a very powerful and moving message presented with such charm and infectious energy.
Kudlian Software supported the award and generously presented Victoria from Bricknell School with copies of I Can Animate 2, Pro Animate and a HD webcam. It's the perfect gift as Kudlian supported production of the film and customised Pro Animate, achieving a technical milestone - the first film made by children to be filmed in HD CinemaScope and mastered in DCP.
From left: Festival director Deb Singleton, myself, Victoria Jones, Kudlian Software MD James Betts
The awards on12th November coincided with the groundbreaking BBC documentary project, Britain in a Day and we filmed the whole day from Victoria's perspective. The rushes are available for viewing along with thousands of others on YouTube.
This is the forth film I've been involved with at Bricknell Primary, and it's always an incredible environment to work in. When Bricknell create animation, they really mean business and they realise the huge learning outcomes animation achieves with their learners. The teachers at Bricknell are skilled in animation now, and so this time, I and they wanted me to push animation to a new level at the school. So we worked with all the pupils at the school, over 600 pupils to make a film so huge it only feels big enough on a cinema screen!.
We took the pupils who made this film to see "This is Cinerama" at the National Media Museum and inspire them about wide screen cinema, so it's fitting the film is screening on Europes only cinerma screen as part of the 60th anniversary of Cinerama! Treats and surprises from the world of widescreen cinema are promised, with clips, short documentaries and those special touches that make Sunday morning at the Widescreen Weekend so special. I will be there to present the film.
