High school pupils got to show off their film-making skills at an open air film festival hosted by the Cape Town Museum of Childhood in Rondebosch on Friday November 22.

Ten pupils from Heideveld Secondary, Voortrekker High in Kenilworth and Vista Nova High School in Pinelands took part in a three-month long Real to Reel Stories project, which was sponsored by the City of Cape Town and took place at the museum where independent film-maker Tayla McGregor taught them about the movie-making process.

Each of the 10 pupils then had a two-minute documentary they directed presented to around 40 guests on an outdoor projector screen.

“We had different youths who were shy; they came together and acquired skills, and we were grateful to go on this journey with them,” said the museum’s outreach manager, Chanel Joseph.

Ms McGregor said: “The pupils showed commitment in showing up on Fridays. We learnt so much together, and to see so many different stories coming out of this project was meaningful.”

She explained film terminology to the pupils and helped them during the editing process.

“It was important to show that their voice matters and their story matters,” she said.

Heideveld Secondary School Grade 11 pupil Shakoor Lucas presented his documentary, Choices, Chances and Changes.

“My documentary is about a young girl who is feeling positive even though she is growing up through the violence and gangsterism in Heideveld area,” he said.

Vista Nova High Grade 10 pupil Shahzaadee Kamrodie, from Rylands, presented her documentary, Children’s Rights.

“It is about children having the right to education, the right to freedom and the right to play outside without any disturbances,” she said, adding, “As I was working through the process, I was excited to see the end product.”

Voortrekker High Grade 11 pupil Marissa Mateka, from Philippi, presented District 6: Voices of the Past.

“It covers the story of District Six and shares how a former resident living through Apartheid had to move out. It also sums up how we need to forgive each other as a country in order for us to move forward,” she said.

The Centre for Early Childhood director Professor Eric Atmore, who attended the screening, said all the pupils “showed true leadership; they were fantastic and brilliant”.

All the high school film-makers in the middle flanked by the Cape Town Museum of Childhood outreach manager Chanel Joseph and film-maker Tayla McGregor on the far left with Centre for Early Childhood director Professor Eric Atmore on the far right.

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Young film-makers have chance to shine