The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), as a part of their drive to bring awareness about the Indian cultural heritage, started the FilmIt India project in 2008. This year, Bharathi Vidya Bhavan was selected to play the host in the city by FilmIt India. The project reaches out to children and teachers alike and educates them about simple filming and editing techniques, principles of script writing and content development. They then equip them with a handycam and asks them to come up with small, two or three-minute docu-films about any aspect to do with either culture or heritage in general.
Paul Francis Clifford, programme manager (digital learning) from the Museum of London was brought in to contribute his expertise to the workshop. Explaining the process of film making, Clifford breaks it down to the students (mostly within the class range of 7th standard to 9th) and says, "The key to making a film is to keep it simple. Break down your story and make sure the scenes remain fluidly connected. The best way of learning is practically working towards it." And with that the students were handed their cameras and sent of on their film making venture.
Speaking of India, he adds, "Everywhere I look around here, there are references to a cultural past which is so different from the UK. India has a very strong connection to its heritage."
Throwing light on FilmIT, Purnima Datt, director of the Heritage Education and Communication Service (HECS), INTACH, says, "The FilmIt project which also reaches out schools in the UK, brings about a cultural exchange between children as the films are loaded on the young INTACH website. So far the Indian children have loaded about 120 films while the site has about 450 films uploaded for members to view."
The essence of the project is to inculcate an interest in the rich heritage of India while at the same time keeping it modern enough for students to take up. Talking about his experience with the workshop, Clifford, who is on his first visit to India, says, "The kids are fantastic. Their enthusiasm is so much more independent of an instructor."
The workshop hosted by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan included the schools — Geetanjali, Meridian, Jubilee Hills Public School and Oxford School. Each school had a team of about seven students who worked on their story and presented it to the entire group. The films shot by these students will be uploaded on the young INTACH website along with the movies from the schools in the UK, giving children a very unique experience of heritage from another peer's point of view.