North East film project moves forward thanks to lottery boost
27/02/2006

Players of the North East Postcode Lottery will be amongst the first to see an innovative film project developed by the Depaul Trust in the region.

GoodFund, the lottery’s charity arm has chosen the charity for homeless young people as its ‘Charity Projects’ and donated £4,000. The money will be used to work with at risk young men and women from the region to increase their confidence and self esteem.

The brainchild of local actor and writer Craig Conway, the project involves the production of a short film, which will be first screened in the North East in June 2006.

Manuela Wendler of GoodFund said: “The film project aims to connect with young people who feel they have started life at a disadvantage. They find the transition from adolescence into adulthood very difficult. We hope that this unique opportunity inspires creativity and debate amongst the young, whilst producing a living testament to the abilities of our youth.”

Jill Boak, project manager at Depaul Trust project Simonside House, added: “Even after the first session we could see an increase in the confidence of some of our participants. This project will improve their interpersonal and communication skills, raise their aspirations and help them gain the confidence to do all sorts of different jobs. “

Depaul Trust hopes that this short film project will help them raise funding for a much larger scale project – a feature length film also to be shot in the region.

Co-writer and director Craig Conway explained: “We would like to produce a social drama, which will also appeal to a commercial audience. Long-term we hope to work with Depaul Trust not just in the North East, but across the UK and internationally.

The ‘In Estates’ film project also secured financial support from Northern Film + Media.

GoodFund holds a number of special preview tickets for players of the Postcode Lottery, which will be available on a first come, first served basis. To register your interest, email info@goodfund.org.