Funded by the European Union (EU), 150 students attending the school have been selected to be a part of a 13-month Citizen Journalist Course, whereby laptops and mobile phones are given to each student to film stories in their communities.
Assisting in accelerating the school successes, Big Fish founder and CEO, Dr Melanie Chait, explains how the EU-funded training has dramatically transformed Big Fish’s teaching methodology, as each student is now equipped with their own set of tools to edit and do research.
Further to this, the quality cell phones have provided the students with quality cameras to shoot stories and learn story-telling techniques.
“Part of our success is that we don’t only train for the job, but allow students to develop their confidence, self-esteem as well as problem solving abilities. Central to our methodology is to teach different approaches to interpret the world, through focussing on social justice issues. South Africa is sitting on a social time bomb and unless we assist the youth in finding ways to navigate their futures, our gini coefficient will not improve,’ comments Dr Chait, a champion of youth employment and skills development.
The Ford Foundation has recognised the award winning film school as an exemplar for best practise for post-secondary training, possessing one of the highest employment rates of training institutions.
Big Fish’s dedication to youth employment is aided by the inexorable development of digital technology, which constantly increases the need for content , thereby creating increased opportunities for youth employment. A most recent example of this is Rand Merchant Bank commissioning Big fish to create videos on the arts and environment for use on social media. Fourteen of these films will be screened at the 20th Encounters International Documentary Film Festival showcasing at the Labia Theatre in Cape Town on 9 June, and at the Bioscope in Maboneng, Johannesburg on 3 June.
Supporting the Development aspect of Encounters Film Festival, Wesgro’s Film and Media Promotion Officer and ex-Big Fish Project Manager, Lisa Mini, commented: “Big Fish has always been close to my heart, having assisted with the opening of the Green Point campus doors 7 years ago it fills my heart with pride to see the school go from strength to strength. We are thrilled to welcome back the quality work of the students at this year’s festival and look forward to viewing the content they have in-store for us.”
In 2016, Big Fish feature documentary film ‘Walking in my Shoes’ was screened at Encounters Film Festival. Focussing on the daily domestic lives of rural school children, the film depicted the daily trek to school. Highlighting the harsh climates, early hours of departure, distances walked and obstacles endured by these children - who were expected to be on time and write the same exams as those who had been driven daily. The film won best mid-length documentary at the 13th Montreal Black International Film Festival in September 2017. One of the key characters, Siphilele Thusini, is now studying at Big Fish.
Since its inception, Big Fish has successfully assisted disadvantaged youth gain access to tertiary education by offering bursaries to selected candidates through the help and support of sponsors and benefactors. The National Skills Fund is currently funding 125 students to complete a National Certificate in Film and TV production. Other funders include Old Mutual, eTV, Department of Arts and Culture, MICT Seta and Bertha Foundation.
Applauding Big Fish on their dedication to the development of youth opportunity and skills development in South Africa, Wesgro CEO Tim Harris commented: “We are honoured to have the entire Big Fish campus operating out of our province. Cape Town is a world-class film city, and the Western Cape a top film destination - we look forward to working in partnership with Big Fish – in their aim for building capacity with the goal of creating more opportunities for young people in the province.”
Issued by Wesgro Media Team, 2 June 2018
