‘If only’- a new film written by and starring students from Manshead Upper School, Dunstable - receives world premier screening - 24th May 2010
Students from years 10 and 11 at Manshead Upper School in Dunstable have written and starred in a professionally-made film drama that received its premier screening on Friday 21st May at Dunstable Community Fire Station. It was shown to an invited audience of the cast and friends, teachers, officers from the emergency services and the three Bedfordshire councils and Mayor of Luton, Tom Shaw.
‘If only ...’ is a dramatic yet naturalistic story of teenage siblings, their friends and family, that shows how a series of everyday choices – such as not wearing a seat belt - can lead to lives being transformed forever and the consequences of living with those decisions. At the premier, Mayor of Luton Tom Shaw congratulated the students on the film and presented the writers and cast with a copy of the DVD.
Lizzie Cox and Danny Fullbrook played the leading roles of Lauren and Luke, said it had been hard work but good fun producing the film and that it had made them think about how much concentration is needed to drive safely. They said the hardest part was thinking about the consequences of being involved in a crash and the effect it would have on people’s lives.
In 2009, all schools throughout Bedfordshire were invited to participate in a script-writing competition run by the Bedfordshire and Luton Casualty Reduction Partnership as part of its ‘Belt Up for Life’ campaign, to promote the importance of drivers and passengers wearing seat belts. The winning script was selected by a panel of road safety officers from Luton Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Bedford Borough councils who agreed that the script should be produced as a film and be used as a road safety educational resource in schools in and beyond the county. The team were also awarded £250 to be spent on road safety education resources for their school.
Alan Collins, Principal Road Safety Officer for Luton Borough Council, who lead the project, commented: ‘We were really impressed with students who rose to the challenge of the Belt Up for Life script-writing competition. They not only produced a really clever and thought-provoking script but then went on to act in the final production to bring it all to life. Staff from Luton Borough Council and Manshead Upper School also played supporting roles. With the support of professional film crew, local company, Axiom Video Productions, the end result is a superb film that delivers an important safety message in a style that will appeal to school children of all ages.
‘The DVDs of the film will be used as an educational road safety resource in schools throughout Bedfordshire and we are also making it available to road safety teams nationally to reach a wide audience.’
The DVD includes teachers’ notes and suggested workshop ideas for follow up class work. Copies are available from the Luton Road Safety Team on 01582 546861 or roadsafety@luton.gov.uk
