Cancer Awareness
CANCER AWARENESS : CANCER IS CURABLE
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Indian children with cancer nominated at Australian Children’s film festival
CANKIDS.. .KIDSCAN
enabling children and families faced with cancer

(A unit of Indian Cancer Society, Delhi Branch)

D7/7, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi 110057, INDIA

Ph : (91) 11 41663670/1/2 Mobile: (91) 9953591578

e-mail: poonambagai@cankidsindia.org Web: www.cankidsindia.org



“Fight for Life” – a film made by Indian children with cancer nominated at Australian Children’s film festival – only Indian entry to be nominated


It was a long awaited dream for UK based young professionals freelancing in film-making and design - Mantavya (Indian) and Daria (Russian) that was made possible by the Philip Russell Travel Scholarship from Kingston University London and the Seagate Creative Fund. They had one desire in their hearts, that was to give something back to the communities from where they have come. With this in mind they embarked on a journey that would test their existence as creative individuals and passionate human beings. They wanted to share their knowledge and experience with children who might not get a chance to do so.

Their first stop was New Delhi in India. Mantavya and Daria visited the children of Cankids Kidscan – a unit of Indian Cancer society of India. Their plan was to empower these children with the techniques and abilities to film and create stunning designs for film. The goal was to help these children embrace film and design techniques that would not only better their skills but also benefit them in the future.

The duo worked with a group of 12 children and parents for two weeks, teaching them everything from scratch. The main aim for the children in the project was to come up with an idea for a short film, write a script, shoot the film, edit it, design the posters for the film and then have a grand premier for everybody to see.

The children’s film ‘Fight for Life’ is based on a true story, and is about facing realities with cancer. Scripted by the children themselves, the story follows Sonu, a child with cancer whose mother has left him due to the pressures of poverty, and Sonam, a woman, whose son did not survive the disease. The children were so excited about the film and having their roles of directors and actors that they were willing to shoot twenty four hours a day without stopping. Some of the children were finishing off their home work and visits to their doctors early just so that they could put in an extra hour of creating magic on film. Fight for Life premiered in Delhi in Feb 08.


Soon after, Mantavya and Daria travelled to a boarding school in Yekaterinburg (Russia) to teach visually impaired children film making. Here too the the project lasted fifteen days. Children between the ages of twelve and sixteen were put incharge of devising an idea for a short film and then shooting it all by themselves. The children came up with a film titled ‘Blind Love’ which follows a ‘strange’ girl Sonya as she finds herself in midst of a love triangle and tries to make sense of where her heart truly lies.

And now, both sets of children are hugely excited as both the films ‘Blind Love’ and ‘Fight for Life’ have been nominated for the Auburn International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults in Australia and now will compete for a prize in September 2008.

Other than teaching these children film making and design in both the countries Mantavya and Daria were also documenting this process. In India they met Uday, a talented twelve year old boy suffering from osteosarcoma of the leg. His wish was to become the designer of the film. Daria took him under her wing and taught him graphic design within two weeks, so that he could finally make the film poster for the day of the premier. The premier came swiftly and film was finally released. Uday’s mother on seeing his poster was so proud of him that she burst into tears.

At the moment Mantavya and Daria are working on their documentary titled ‘What Colour is Black’ about their experiences of working with children in both the countries. The documentary is in its final stage of post production and the DVDs with all extras including the children’s films will be available soon from their website www.thingamagic.org. The money collected from the DVD sales will be donated to Cankids...Kidscan and the boarding school in Russia. The trailer will be available on the Thingamagic wesbite by the end of August 2008.

“This trip has changed us. We found a new beginning in ourselves and the children we worked with. We also learnt a lot from these children who are challenging themselves every day with their own problems and fears. Now we are planning to continue with such trips and are constantly looking for opportunities where we can share our knowledge and experiences while helping people to believe in themselves and their future regardless of their situations.”


You are cordially invited to attend. For details contact Poonam Bagai, President, Cankids at 9811525745, or Abhijit Roy, Program Officer at 9971841305.

Send your doing's to aware.cancer@gmail.com
posted by Bhavya @ 9:03 PM   6 comments
CANKIDS ANNOUNCES कैंसर SCHOLARSHIP
CANKIDS.. .KIDSCAN
enabling children and families faced with cancer
(A unit of Indian Cancer Society, Delhi Branch)
D7/7, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi 110057, INDIA
Ph : (91) 11 41663670/1/2 Mobile: (91) 9953591578
e-mail: poonambagai@cankidsindia.org Web: www.cankidsindia.org

CANKIDS ANNOUNCES THE FIRST EVER
NATIONAL CHILDHOOD CANCER SCHOLARSHIPS

This Independence Day, Aug 15, 2008, 5 children/teenagers, who have battled with cancer, will be selected, from all around the country

• In recognition of the indomitable courage and honoring the bravery and spirit of children who have fought and survived CANCER,
• To encourage and motivate cancer-affected children to pursue a normal and natural academic and extra-curricular life and
• To prove to society that cancer is a disease that can be tackled with a positive attitude and spirit.

Scholarships are being awarded in 5 categories:
a. Cankids Scholarship for Academic Excellence: junior level (class 1 to 6),
b. Max New York Life -Cankids Scholarship for Academic Excellence: senior level (class 7 upwards),
c. Vimla Mehta - Cankids Scholarship for Excellence in Sports
d. Prem Nath Bagai - Cankids Scholarship for Creative Arts/ Music
e. Kalavati Shanta Anup Kumar Scholarship for Creative Writing & Authorship
The Scholarships are a Trophy, Citation & a Cash Award

Applications have poured in from all around the country – Mumbai, Chennai, Saharanpur and even remote corners of Gujarat. The applicants were asked to submit certificates and reports, and an essay on “what having cancer has meant to them”. The applications are being judged by a eminent panel of Vice Admiral Suren P. Govil, who heads up the Duke of Edinburgh Awards in India, Dr Ashok Mohan, Former Technical Advisor to Chairman AEC &. Former Advisor, Tata Memorial Centre. Mumbai and Ms Aditi Misra, Principal , DPS Gurgaon.

The awards will be conferred at an Independence Day ceremony at Le Meridien Hotel , New Delhi, on Friday August 15, 2008. Hon’ble Health Minister, Dr Anubami Ramados has been invited as Chief Guest. Children with cancer will perform an Independence Day skit, their parents will sing patriotic songs. Importantly, Zindagi Ki Ladai, a film made by the children, the only Indian entry nominated at the Australian Auburn International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults will be previewed. (More details of the film attached)

You are cordially invited to attend. For details contact Poonam Bagai, President, Cankids at 9811525745, or Abhijit Roy, Program Officer at 9971841305.




Send your doing's to aware.cancer@gmail.com
posted by Bhavya @ 9:00 PM   0 comments
Send your doing's to aware.cancer@gmail.com
posted by Bhavya @ 8:56 PM   0 comments
 
About Me

Name: Cancer Awareness
Home: NEW DELHI, DELHI, India
About Me:
See my complete profile
Previous Post
Archives
Sidebar Section

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Duis ligula lorem, consequat eget, tristique nec, auctor quis, purus. Vivamus ut sem. Fusce aliquam nunc vitae purus.

Links

Free Blogger Templates

BLOGGER