Chichester film students and local schools team up to ‘Help the Kelp’
Three film and art students from the University of Chichester have shared their experience of working with local school children to create five incredible short films, inspired by the Sussex Kelp Recovery Project. Sam Lynch, Evelyn Orrel and Samantha Shek joined forces with youth arts charity Artswork to offer guidance and practical support to young people at three Littlehampton primary schools, as they created films that shed a light on the importance of Sussex’s rare coastal kelp forests. Their efforts culminated in a recent red-carpet premiere at the Windmill Cinema in Littlehampton.
Students from River Beach and Summerlea Community primary schools collaborated with the film students from the University of Chichester and experts from Sussex Wildlife Trust and Sussex Underwater to explore the ecology of kelp, the history of the local campaign to save it and a range of film and animation techniques. Supported by commissioning charity Artswork, specialists in empowering young people to lead their own creative projects, 15 young students from Years 5 and 6 developed film concepts to express what they’d learned to new audiences.
University of Chichester student Sam Lynch explained: “I got to talk extensively about animation with the kids and lead a couple of workshops with Sandra at Riverbeach, one where we created sea creatures from plasticine and a second where I taught stop-motion animation and helped each group make their own scenes. I’m amazed at how well the kids took to it! To take part in a project that engaged with a younger generation, driven and aware with a good head on their shoulders, was a breath of fresh air.”
More than 600 young people worked on producing their films. They took on roles ranging from creating claymation creatures and animation to sound effects and acting. A range of local artists including Littlehampton-based Lucy Seeds and Shirley Bloomfield-Davies supported their work, which resulted in five wildly ambitious and different new short films all inspired by the remarkable work of the Sussex Kelp Recovery Project.
Beccy East from Artswork said: “Working with the three students attached to the programme from the University of Chichester has added so much value to this project. Throughout, they approached their commitment to the children’s ideas and learning with seriousness and care. From teaching about practical film techniques, to working out how to turn the young people’s ideas into reality, supporting filming and editing, costume and design, their involvement has been invaluable. It has definitely enhanced both the experience and process of the project, and its outcomes, to create work of a quality we could not have achieved without them.
“The partnership between Artswork and the university has enhanced links between the university and the community and demystified career pathways for the hundreds of children involved, which is so important to Artwork’s mission to empower young people through creativity in Arun.”
To watch the videos, visit https://www.youtube.com/@Artsworkltd/videos
