Feature
Across Asia Youth Film Festival By Marketing and Communications
In his role as Director of the Across Asia Youth Film Festival 2018, David Procter watched over 300 films from 62 different schools and 14 countries. He describes gaining a real sense of Asia through the eyes of 10-21 year olds, with different cultures represented in vignettes and portraits of people’s lives. Often cathartic, the subject matters are very personal to being a young person today, such as academic pressure, body image, screen time, personal relationships, and wider themes including conservation, pollution and poverty.
ownership of their narrative and putting it across with their specific style of storytelling, their work is uniquely compelling. As a teacher who has invested a great deal in developing audio-visual literacy through filmmaking at Tanglin, David understands the passion and determination it takes to tell a story through film. With the young filmmakers giving so much of themselves, the AAYFF in return, gives them the broadest possible audience for their work, with many opportunities to connect with their audience, media professionals and peers.
“The film industry is all about knowing the right people, networking if you will. AAYFF is an opportunity for young people But I wouldn’t say that I network as such. to tell a story from their own perspective, I go to experience, meet and learn from and with their skill in communicating others who are in the same sort of area. so honestly and personally; in taking The AAYFF is one of the best [ways of doing this] for people like me. A whole “If you want to understand the issues that are on young Industry Day to get to learn from the pros, to have time to talk to the other people’s minds, watch filmmakers and learn from them too. their films.” David Procter, The biggest benefit is just simply having Director of the AAYFF a lot of filmmakers in one place.” Ewan
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Windebank, Best AAYFF Film 2018 and Best 13-15 Age Group Winner. From the connections formed between each other and industry professionals at the Industry Day, to the live audience reaction at the Gala Screening and the feedback from the judging panel, it is clear that the festival format puts young filmmakers front and centre of the dialogue they instigate.
“I saw so much passion in the work submitted. I had fun watching them too.” Doreen Neo, Chief Content Officer, Mediacorp