The Into Film Awards – the UK’s leading celebration of young, filmmaking talent and enrichment – took place yesterday at ODEON Luxe Leicester Square, and a group of young Oldham filmmakers have won ‘Best Documentary’ for their film, Unveiled Voices.
Unveiled Voices explores what being brown and female means to a group of young Muslims from Oldham. Interviews with group and community members explore ‘brown’ as something not only linked to colour or ethnicity, while gender roles about what women can and can’t do are also challenged.
Fourteen students made the film with support from three youth centrestaff at Fatima Women’s Association (FWA) and a lead facilitator at Working Class Film School. They first learnt about representation, identity and social issues, before applying this knowledge to making a film about the lack of visibility of young Muslim women from South Asian heritage. They developed an understanding of cinematography, lighting and interview techniques. They then used these skills to independently conduct interviews with the public and found great joy in making connections with people in the local community.
Unveiled Voices was created as part of Into Film’s industry backed the Every Child a Filmmaker initiative, supporting young people across the UK to create their own films, share their voices, and collaborate with professional filmmakers.
The Awards, sponsored by the UK film industry, celebrates young people’s creativity in film, showcasing and highlighting the wealth of tomorrow’s creative talent. This year’s Awards received hundreds of entries from every corner of the UK, with stories ranging from light-hearted comedies to thought-provoking films and documentaries. Other topics and stories include being a Ukrainian refugee, staying safe online, youth mental health, tips for supporting young people with special educational needs, and socio-economic observations.
