The winner of the young person’s film competition on risk, held to celebrate British Safety Council’s 60th anniversary, was described as a 'convincing portrayal of the corrosive power of new technology’ by Mark Kermode, Observer chief film critic.
Features
Mark Kermode applauds films made for 60 years of the British Safety Council
By on 24 March 2017
Me, Miphone & I, by Juan Cruz-Hernández, a student and camera operator from London, took the top prize last night at the special screening event at Regents cinema in central London.
Mark Kermode, addressing the audience, said: “When the British Safety Council launched its short film competition for young people last October, it wanted to hear from the next generation about today’s risks that are most important to them.”
The five finalist films covered climate change, mental and physical health risks of growing up and the risks of inaction. These were ‘little films, addressing big topics,’ said Kermode.
The films were selected out of 47 entries which came from all around the world. After Me, Miphone & I, they were: Inertia, by Nikhil Sudersanan, a film-editing student from Kerala, India; Flight Risk, by Scottish independent filmmaker Sean Hall; Let’s Plan a Holiday, by English independent filmmaker Shanil Kawol and Risk, by Kate Haley, student of English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
The film Future Risk: the next 60 years' made especially for the night followed, covering some similar themes tackled in the young people films. Sir Cary Cooper, Professor of organizational psychology & health at Manchester University spoke of ‘techno stress’: “We don’t have rest and recuperation away from technology. We’re on the smart phones all the time,” he said.
The night was a chance to celebrate the past and present achievements of the British Safety Council, which celebrates its 60th birthday this year. It included the premiere of British Safety Council at 60 a film exploring the history of the organisation through fascinating archive material which tells the story of the organisation's creation in 1957 and its growth as a significant campaigning organisation that transformed health and safety.
Reflecting on the evening, Mike Robinson, Chief Executive, said: “The British Safety Council has a great spirit. Today’s celebrations clearly demonstrate that we have a lot to feel proud of, as well as many challenges and opportunities to address as we look forward to the next 60 years.”
View short films by young people on the British Safety Council's You Tube channel here
To see 'Future Risk: the next 60 years' film click here
The British Safety Council at 60 - a film exploring the history of the organisation through fascinating archive material here.
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