Blog

During the final month of 2010, the children at A Friendly Haven learned about the process of movie making. ArtBridge facilitator Nick Meriwether led the project which involved brainstorming, writing, making props and costumes, and filming a short film starring children ages five through nine.

While the step-by-step movie development took four weeks, the children’s excitement built immediately. They started this project by watching short videos by famous directors such as Michel Gondry that involved a low-budget with few props and costume. From this, the youngsters learned that making a movie could be very simple and inexpensive.

The film was titled “The Princesses and the Monster” and the children had a blast making the costumes with the help of ArtBridge. They enjoyed getting to develop the story and play an active role in filming. The whole experience was new to these children, and they couldn’t believe how exciting movie making was.

The final project concluded with the movie premier at A Friendly Haven. Everyone gathered to enjoy the film. At the end of the entertaining movie, the children applauded and requested to watch it again… and again… and again. Each viewing led to more laughter and a sense of pride for their movie. After seeing the short film over five times, it was clear that the children had loved every aspect of this undertaking. The overall goal of the project was to give children a chance to have fun and use their imaginations through a different art form.