Tony Blair Faith Foundation

On Tuesday 6 December 2011, the Tony Blair Faith Foundation will host the Faith Shorts 2011 film competition awards ceremony at 195 Piccadilly, the home of British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Joining the winners will be some very special guests and will be streamed live around the world. We’ll be providing further details of the live stream soon – keep watching this space.

Faith Shorts is a global film competition that provides young people with the opportunity to express their faith through film. The competition gives young voices a global platform to showcase their films and provides access to filmmaking equipment for those who are without it.

This year, the Faith Shorts competition was open to young people between the ages of 14 and 18 who made films to fit into 3 categories: family, music, and action. The entrants were asked to submit a three-minute film that expressed, through their own words, how faith inspires them.

We received hundreds of entries from young people around the world. Submissions came in from 5 continents and countries including India, Egypt, Italy, Argentina, Canada, Pakistan, UK, New Zealand, Lebanon, USA, Nigeria, Singapore, and the Philippines. Their personal messages of hope, peace, and interfaith understanding were truly inspiring.

The films were judged by a panellist of high-profile judges includes Hugh Jackman, Jet Li, Anil Kapoor, Sherry Lansing, Amr Khaled, Rabbi David Rosen, Dawn French and Tony Blair. The winners will be announced at 195 Piccadilly, the home of BAFTA on the night of the event.

Film and religion often dominate the headlines but rarely do we see them come together to represent good. Faith Shorts gives the opportunity for young people to put faith in film and show that religion can be a force for good in the world.

Tony Blair said, “By gaining insights into the lives of young people across the world this competition has the potential to build bridges across cultural and religious divides. I hope this competition will provide a platform for creative and talented young people and an opportunity for young filmmakers to see their work promoted on the global stage.”

Since the competition opened for entries earlier this year, powerful stories have been submitted on subjects such as faith, family, loss, overcoming adversity, personal devotion and hope. Often, religion can be used as a source of conflict and prejudice. In contrast, these films show how faith can give hope, challenge the status quo and build peace through understanding.

Join us on 6th December to celebrate with our winning filmmakers and our very special guests.  Details of the live stream to follow soon.

Visit our Faith Shorts pages to learn more about the competition and to see the 2011 shortlisted films.