Youth film competition addresses drug abuse, alcoholism among other issues

AMMAN — Through filmmaking, young people can play a key role in raising awareness and correcting misconceptions about behaviours which are harmful to their peers, stakeholders agreed on Thursday.

Speaking at the launch of the Mentor Arabia Short Movie Competition, experts in the fields of health, anti-narcotics and filmmaking agreed on the efficiency of youth-to-youth films, particularly at a time when so many expectations are put on the younger generations.

Held in partnership with the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS), the film competition is open to filmmakers aged between 18 and 25, and requires them to submit short films between one to 10  minutes long, organisers said at the launch held at the Royal Film Commission (RFC).

Submissions, which can be dramatic, comic or documentary pieces, must address the impact on young people of dangerous activities, for example smoking, drug abuse or alcoholism, the organisers explained, noting that submissions are free of charge and must be made between August 1 and 15.

RHAS Director General Hanin Odeh highlighted the need for all stakeholders to work collectively, each in their own field, to spread awareness among the younger generation on issues and practices that can negatively affect their health, especially drug abuse.

Odeh said that the society, in partnership with Mentor Arabia, is carrying out three health awareness initiatives, targeting school and university students of various age groups. 

The initiatives are currently being implemented in some 100 schools and 20 youth centres across the country, she added.

For her part, Thuraya Ismail, executive director of the Beirut-based Mentor Arabia, said that the political, security and economic conditions in this part of the world have contributed to higher rates of drug addiction, which in turn has resulted in increased violence and crime rates.

Regarding the competition, Ismail, said it is part of the organisation’s efforts to raise awareness on such issues through sport, art and culture in a bid to effectively influence children and youth.

Present in eight countries in the region, the competition is tailored to the needs of each nation, she noted 

Ismail said that the evaluation committee, made up of experts from across the region, will select 10 applications, while the top five will be selected based on the committee’s evaluation and the votes of social media users.

All top 10 winners will be honoured, with the first place winner receiving an award of $5,000 (JD3,545).

The second place award will be $3,000 (JD 2,130), while the third, fourth and fifth place winners will be awarded $ 1,000 (JD709), $750 (JD530) and $500 (JD354) respectively. 

Ismail noted that the evaluation criteria will include influential impact, creativity and technique, underscoring that the winner will also be entitled to a year-long mentoring opportunity with one of the judges.  

Mentor Arabia Advisory Member Rowaida Maaitah said the younger generation is the “motivating power” of the economy and therefore must be healthy and productive. She cited figures of the UN World Drug Report 2016 showing that one out of every 20 people, aged between 15 and 65, consumes drugs worldwide.

She highlighted the role of media and educators in sending the right messages to fight this “epidemic” that “contaminates” the entire surroundings of the person consuming drugs. 

Meanwhile, Ahmad Khatib, an RFC member and an evaluator in the competition, said films are a “very effective” tool for spreading awareness, adding that the human brain processes a photo 60,000 times faster than a word.

Constructive films not only educate, but also entertain, he said, stressing the need for applications to be original, locally-oriented and to “show, not tell”.

Major Anas Tantawi from the Anti-Narcotics Department said that some films and series have indirectly promoted the use of drugs in the way they linked drugs to fortune and depicted it as an escape from life’s problems. 

He also cited a link between the use of drugs and crimes.

Application forms and more information on the contest are available at www.mentorarabia.org/smc