I. REASONS OF THE PROJECT

For the past few years in order to help students develop comprehensively, high schools and other universities of social sciences and humanity have paid more attention to arts. However, cinema – an art that contributes to the development of students’ ideology and aesthetics - has not been given due care or attention.

The project on WE ARE THE FILMMAKERS helps to put forward solutions for the current problem. The practice of filmmaking at school and the knowledge on cinema will make students more self-confident, and more aware of the world around them. Learning about filmmaking will also help students make cross-culture analyses, develop their abilities to work or discuss in groups, make the most of their creativeness and build up their independence, etc.

The project will endow students with chances to make their own films. Accordingly, with the implementation of the project Vietnam’s cinema hopes to discover new talents and geniuses in filmmaking.

II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The main purpose of the project is to popularize cinematic knowledge via extra curricular activities in different schools at weekends, during summer  and winter breaks; and to develop a community of young filmmakers with the assistance of television and the internet.

The objects of the project are students at schools (6th, 7th, 8th and 10th^, 11th grades), colleges and universities through out the nation. At the present, there are 2074 schools with nearly 3,000,000 students, 104 colleges and universities with approximately 1,400,000 students nationwide (statistics taken from the Ministry of Education and Training).

Students will voluntarily participate in the project by joining any movie/cinema clubs at their schools. Those clubs will be run by the school authorities. We hope that after 2 years of implementation, there will be about 120 student film crews (approximately 600 students nationwide) participating in the community of ‘WE ARE THE FILMMAKERS’ (WAFM) .

The ratios of students will be as follow:

1. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city: 80 crews / 400 students

2. 8 large cities & provinces: 40 crews / 200 students

It is expected that after 2 years there will be about 120 groups of filmmakers (approximately 600 students will be equipped with basic knowledge about filmmaking) and a “We are the filmmakers” (WAFM) playground will also be created.

All Classes will be organized every Sunday morning or afternoon

All the Instructors are experienced and well-recognized in filmmaking and teaching.

The activities will be managed by the schools and universities, TPD Center, and the students’ families. TPD Center will be in charge of selecting instructors for the project.

III. PURPOSES OF THE PROJECT

The project on WE ARE THE FILMMAKERS aims at:

• Provide students with knowledge about cinema, help improve the aesthetics and the understanding of the youth about arts in general and about cinema in particular.
• Set up a forum where different adolescents from different backgrounds can have the same voice, share the same ambition, opinion on, and passion for cinema. 
• Create a useful playground for the youth and give them opportunities to make their own cinema works. With the help of the project, the youth can be more aware of the working process of professional filmmakers.

IV. EXPECTED OUTCOMES

1. Training: Provide students at high schools, colleges, and universities with the knowledge on cinema and filmmaking

Organize courses on filmmaking (including teaching theories and practice), film screenings (feature films and documentaries) at junior high schools, high schools, colleges and universities. The course on documentaries will last for 2 months (8 days) and the duration of the course on feature films will also be 2 months (8 days), which means it will take the training courses 4 months (16 days) to complete.

2. Develop the WAFM community (Project’s stability)

Establish cinema clubs (for young non-professional filmmakers) at high schools, colleges, and universities. After participating in the courses of the WAFM project, students who have passion for cinema will have chances to make their own films. TPD center will assist students with professional skills, knowledge, and equipment. After one year of implementation, the project is expected to have the participation of about 80-100 high schools, colleges, and universities with around 80-100 short films and documentaries made.

Main activities:

• Establish cinema clubs at different schools. (WAFM Clubs)
• Organize activities to encourage and motivate members of the WAFM community.
• Organize film screenings, discussions on cinema issues. 
• Broadcast selected short films on TV and on the internet.
• Organize discussions on the selected short films among the WAFM community and on the website of the WAFM project, set up blogs for different WAFM crews in different areas to exchange and discuss ideas online.
• Select and give prizes for the best short films of the week, of the month, and of the year. 
• Organize summer cinema camp for students at junior high school.

TV Program: WE ARE THE FILMMAKERS (WAFM TV show)

The activities of this project will pave the way for a TV program planned to be broadcast television so as to create mutual interaction between members of the WAFM project and the society. This TV program will bring the knowledge on cinema to adolescents, act as a bridge between adolescents and the project, and encourage the creativeness of adolescents in filmmaking. Recently, the project has received the invitation from VTV3, VTV6, HTV, etc. to co-operate in producing this program.

ONE PIXEL film festival

From 2010, TPD Center will coordinate with high schools, colleges, and universities to organize an annual short film festival called ONE PIXEL at the beginning of every school year. The festival will have its consistent regulations and different topics for different years of organization. The short films and short documentaries made by students will be selected to send to the festival. TPD Center will set up an assessment board consisting of young filmmakers to select then give prizes to the best films, and best non-professional young filmmakers. TV viewers will also be able to vote for the best films made by students.

2.3. Statistics:

• Duration of the project: 2.5 years
• Number of film crews after 2 years of project implementation: 120 crews/600 students  
• Number of students per crew (on average): 5 students
• Number of classes: 40 classes (5 crews = 25 students/class)
• Number of teachers: 20-30
• Number of teaching assistants: 20-30
• Number of days/course: +16 days
• Estimated number of cameras for each crew: 100 (look for more support from Sony, Canon, JVC, Panasonic, etc.)        
• Estimated number of editing equipment: 20 (10 crews/set of equipment)
• Estimated crews/students in Hanoi and HCMC: 80 crews /400
• Estimated crews/students in 8 large cities & province: 40 crews / 200 students
• Filmmaking will be based on the efforts made by schools and students voluntarily participating in the movie/cinema clubs with help from the members of TPD Center.
• Each student/participant has to make a commitment that he/she will follow all the rules and regulations set by TPD Center and by other high schools, colleges and universities. That commitment will help students legally and effectively participate in every activity of the project, while their academic study at school will not be affected.
• Set up cinema clubs such as acting clubs, film editing clubs, film shooting clubs, etc. for students at high schools, colleges and universities. The lessons should be game-oriented (like games), and easy for students to understand. The lessons should focus on practice rather than theories.
• The members of the clubs will be able to further approach different fields of cinema that they are interested in. TPD Center will assist the club activities by providing cinema documents, movies, or by holding small conferences for all the club members to exchange ideas.
• Students will use digital cameras, cell phones, or other equipment provided by TPD Center to shoot/film their films. TPD Center will look for help from a number of supporters like Canon, JVC or Panasonic. Students in remote or mountainous areas will get more priorities in using the equipment.
• The WE ARE THE FILMMAKERS program will be launched after the establishment of the WAFM community (from October 2009). The program is expected to consist of: Providing knowledge on filmmaking: from the script to the film, Meeting members of the project, The on-air column, The new-idea column, Talk show with well-known filmmakers, Short films selection.
• TPD Center, the organizing board of the TV program WE ARE THE FILMMAKERS, and the managing board of different high schools, colleges, and universities will co-operate in organizing the ONE PIXEL film festival.
• Participants: All the non-professional films made by students nationwide. Prior to the festival, these films will be selected by TPD Center.
• Assessment board: Excellent students, the school or university managing boards, outstanding young actors or actresses, and representatives from the sponsors as well as from the television.
• Prizes will include: prize for the best film, prize for the best filmmaker, prize of the assessment board, prize of TV viewers, and prize of other social organizations and sponsors.
• Organization time: annually organized in autumn, at the end of October and at the beginning of November. Students will have more time to make their films during summer holiday. The film selection process will take about two months. October is also a suitable time for students at high schools, colleges, and universities to have extra-curricular activities.
• Venue: Hanoi.

VI. POST-PROJECT

• Reinforce the activities of WAFM
• Maintain Movie Clubs at School
• Encougare stydent to maintain their Filmmaking
• Maintain the activities of 1 PIXEL film festival to present short films made by members of WAFM.