St Albans pupils’ “wonderful time” at national film awards
Heathlands pupils at the Into Film awards. - Credit: Archant
Pupils from Heathlands school for the deaf were pipped to the post last night at the 2017 Into Film awards.
Pupils at Heathlands making SSL. Supplied by the school. - Credit: Archant
Their film, SSL, had been nominated for the Best Live Action (12 and under) category.
Unfortunately, it did not win the award, losing out to a school from Wales.
But headteacher Deborah Jones-Stevens said the film was a success in itself.
She said: “The project is a phenomenal success. We were approached by a deaf filmmaker called Louis Neethling after we had installed filming equipment and received a grant from arts society Nadfas, so it was the perfect time.”
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SSL is about a police force called Stop Sign Language (SSL), who arrest a head teacher for teaching British Sign Language, insisting only speaking is allowed.
It was made by a group of Year 5 to Year 7 pupils, who each had their own role in the production.
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SSL premiered at the Odyssey cinema in St Albans, and shortly afterwards the school found out it had been shortlisted for the award.
Mrs Jones-Stevens said: “To find that, out of hundreds of others, we had been shortlisted was a very special experience.”
The children were invited to the glittering ceremony, held in Leicester Square, which was attended by big name stars like Daniel Craig and Eddie Redmayne.
Mrs Jones-Stevens, said: “We had a wonderful time and it was such a brilliant opportunity for the children.
“It was wonderful to see how deaf children could achieve positive outcomes on equal ground with other children.”
