About the Faith Shorts Film Competition
Faith Shorts is an annual global short film competition launched by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation to provide young people with the opportunity to express their faith through film. This competition gives young voices a global platform on which to showcase their films.
For the 2012 competition, we asked entrants to send us a three minute film which explores the following theme: How My Faith Inspires Me
Last year we received a huge number of entries from young people around the world. Their stories of courage, peace and interfaith cooperation between schools, communities and friends were truly inspiring.
I’m delighted to support Faith Shorts 2012, the annual global short film competition for young people. This year, as events around the world have shown, the ability to give young people a voice and a platform with which to tell their story, is incredibly important. I am really looking forward to judging the entries – what impressed me last year was the quality of the insights, the skill of the storytelling and the ability and openness of the young people to share their perspectives with us. I hope Faith Shorts 2012 will continue to break down barriers and give young people a chance to be heard.
Hugh Jackman, Hollywood Actor and Faith Shorts Judge
Faith Shorts 2012 categories were:
14-17 Year olds: if you are a teenager who has something to say about how faith impacts the way you live your life we want to hear about it in Faith Shorts 2012.
18-27 Year olds: if you are a young adult or a film student within this age range and want to show how faith is a powerful force for good in your life, this is the category for you!
Face to Faith Students: Are you a student at a Face to Faith School? Then you can enter Faith Shorts 2012 as well. Visit the secure website for more details.
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.
Tony Blair
Themes for 2012:
This year, we looked forward to encouraging more films than ever from all around the world. We saw a wide variety of issues covered – from the personal to the global.
We did not want to outline any strict guidelines. Instead, we asked that entrants think as creatively as possible – and to help with this, we added a few suggestions which you can find below.
Faith and your family
Have you seen faith change your family? Is your faith different from that of your parents? Do you have a grandparent whose faith inspires you?
Faith and your identity
Does faith impact the way you see yourself, think about your future, or help your self-esteem? Do you view your faith in a particular way that you’d like to share with us?
Faith, friends and community
Do you have a friend of a different faith that you admire? What helps you get along with friends that have a different faith from you? Have you ever seen friends treated poorly because of what they believed and what happened? Have you seen or been part of a project that has built bridges between those of different faiths?
Faith and the world
How does faith impact on today’s world and what role does it play in conflict. Can it be part of the solution as well as part of the problem – how do you make this happen in everyday life?
Faith and equality
Do you have a story about how we are personally able to ensure the rights of all religions are protected in our communities?
How faith has helped you overcome loss or adversity
Have you ever gone through a difficult time in your life where your faith was what kept you going? Does your faith impact the way you look at loss of loved ones or adversity you face?
How faith inspires you to take action and make a difference
Does your faith make you care about social justice, the environment or other causes? How so and why is important in your faith tradition to take action?
Faith and sport
Have you ever taken your faith into the field? Does your faith change the way you play sport, talk about other teams, or handle things when you lose a match?
Faith and compassion for others
How does your faith encourage you to view those less fortunate than you? What does your faith teach about caring for others?
Faith and a celebration
Are you celebrating a special event this year relating to your faith, or the faith of someone close to you, that tells a story? Fill in the background to the event for us and bring it to life.
