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Battlefords youth show their talents in new film

Jun 12, 2017 | 5:00 PM

Students in the Battlefords taking part in the B.E.A.T.S. program had a hands-on experience in film-making recently that will be showcased in a special premiere this week.

The production is called B.E.A.T.S. Encounter.

About 20 students, mainly in Grade 9, participated in this session of the B.E.A.T.S. program, which stands for Building Expression and Awareness through Theatre and Sound, and is aimed at at-risk youth. 

“We’re trying to find another way to engage youth – and to reinvigorate them with a sense of career and community,” Prairie North Health Region social worker Alan Corbeil, who facilitates the program, said.

The goal of the B.E.A.T.S. program is to help youth use art as a way to express themselves and apply their creativity positively. While taking part in the program youth also learn about different career opportunities outside of the classroom.    

Students from Sakewew High School, North Battleford Comprehensive High School and  Manacowin School in North Battleford participated in the program this year. Prairie North Health Region partnered with Living Sky School Division, Sakewew High School and Concerned for Youth for the program.

The program is held twice a week from February to June, during a period of about 15 weeks, and culminates with the film project.

“We’ve filmed and documented our journey throughout all these sessions,” Corbeil said.

The theme of this year`s production is Truth and Reconciliation.

“It’s all student camera-work and filming, but we do the best we can. It’s a humble film that is really going to document our journey through exploring the Truth and Reconciliation Commission‘s calls to action this year,” he said.

Corbeil said Truth and Reconciliation is a “big topic for the community,” since many Indigenous people who live in the Battlefords are impacted by this issue.  

“It was a great experience for all of us to go through this great topic of reconciliation, and what does that mean for our community, and maybe for the rest of Canada,” Corbeil said.

Some of the artwork of the students in the B.E.A.T.S. program that is being exhibited at the Chapel Art Gallery in North Battleford will also be on display during the premiere event.

“This is our fourth annual run of the BEATS Encounter so it’s been a pretty good go,” Corbeil said. “We’ve had some success in the first couple of years and people have really asked for it to continue. So we’ve expanded it a little more this year.”

The B.E.A.T.S. Encounter film is free to attend and open to the public. It will be showing at the Dekker Centre on Thursday, June 15 starting at 1 p.m.   

 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW