North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson has welcome seven young carers from across Swindon to his community office at the Orbital Shopping Park two enjoy a three-day masterclass with a local filmmaker.
Across the country, tens of thousands of young people act as carers for family and friends who are disabled or have a long-term health condition. Many of the young carers are supported by the Swindon Carers Centre, who provide guidance and advice. The organisation arranged the three day experience in partnership with Create Studios to provide an opportunity for a section of young people who traditionally miss out on enjoying the day-to-day activities which come with growing up.
Local filmmaker, Aoife Twomey, taught the group how to take their film from concept to the silver-screen – teaching the young people about storyboards, continuity basic camera skills and how to use different shots to tell a story. Officers from Wiltshire Police also enjoyed starring roles in the films.
The audience were treated to two very different productions – a dark and mysterious film followed by an action-packed special effects extravaganza featuring “chicken-nugget man”.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “We were watching the young carers produce the films over the past few days as our office was turned into a film studio. I think they’ve got the potential to be the next Steven Spielberg. They miss out on so much that we as children took for granted. There was so much excitement as they were putting the films together and you could see how proud their families were today.”
