Scripting a Better Future ; Underprivileged Children Are Telling the Story of Their Lives Through Films, Songs and a News Tabloid

Summary

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An eight-year-old boy sitting by a river is flinging stones into it. Each stone represents a member of his family. "This is my father," he says looking at a stone, but hesitates throwing it. What follows is a stark and startling recount of some dark and traumatic moments of his life. With four minutes of an effective monologue, Kalvettu (inscribed in stone), as this Tamil film is titled, ends with a twist in the tale. The innocence in the boy's eyes fades and the pebble is vengefully crushed by a solid rock. Cut.

The film has been made under the aegis of East Side Story (ESS), a bureau where children in the age group of 8 and 14, from poor sections of society, write articles on subjects concerning them which appear in newspapers and magazines and make films on these issues which are aired on radio, TV and Internet. Kalvettu, a six- minute film on a child victimised by a parent, and many other short films have been screened in more than 600 villages across Tamil Nadu to great response. "I was convinced that providing them access wherein they could translate their perceptions into digestible forms of media would help make solutions to child welfare more meaningful," says Sriram V. Ayer, who, with support from UNICEF, launched ESS to "empower children to vocalise their concerns, physical and emotional."

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Scripting a Better Future ; Underprivileged Children Are Telling the Story of Their Lives Through Films, Songs and a News Tabloid

Ayer, a software professional, quit a lucrative job four ye...

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