LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION….. Ulster Cancer Foundation (UCF) has teamed up with film makers the ‘Educational Shakespeare Company’ (www.esc-film.com) to produce an exciting new educational resource filmed, scripted and acted by young people.
This innovative project, funded by Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, explores young peoples’ attitudes to smoking, triggers for lighting your first cigarette, the use of smoking in media, peer pressure and how families are affected when young people start smoking.
Pupils from St. Dominic's Grammar School for Girls and from Belfast Boys’ Model School, as well as young people from Cregagh Youth and Community Group and Youth Intervention were involved in all aspects of making the film.
‘Dead Cool’, the DVD, was produced by Judith West, Cancer Prevention Officer, UCF who said,
“Scripted and filmed by young people this new educational resource captures the essence of young people’s culture. They use a language that their peers will understand to highlight the real issues they face in their day-to-day lives in relation to tobacco use. This DVD will be an excellent tool at communicating the dangers of starting to smoke and hopefully it will encourage other young people to kick the habit for good.”
Joanna Dover from Belfast Health and Social Care Trust which funded the project said, “The aim of this short film is to prevent young people from taking up smoking. Three quarters of the smoking population took up the habit while in their teens or younger therefore having a resource produced by young people will hopefully aid young people to say “No” to smoking and reduce this startling statistic.”
To accompany the DVD, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust with support from UCF, will be developing support material for schools, youth and community groups to access, free of charge, in the new 2011-2012 academic year. For further information please contact Judith West at UCF on 028 9066 3281 or email judithwest@ulstercancer.org
To view the film, please see below.
Dead Cool from Ulster Cancer Foundation.