Youth Cultural Event 2015

The youth had to put together a 5 minute video presentation that tells lessons learned from an ancestor.  Our ward chose someone's grandfather who had served in WWII as a pilot.

There is an article all about it at the end that I submitted because I serve in a voluntary role in my church to work with the medial and other public opinion leaders.

Here are some of the fun photos from our ward as they filmed the video.

"Youth and families gathered on Saturday night, February 28, for an evening of popcorn, red carpets, and big screens, all hosted by teens in tuxes and evening gowns.  Over two hundred and fifty youth ages 12-18 from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presented seven videos with the theme "Stories that Bind Us Together" to an appreciative audience of their family and friends. The videos were made a few weeks previously and were written, produced, and performed mainly by the youth.  Each video had to meet a few guidelines, the first being that it should portray a true story from an ancestor of one of the performers. The youth were encouraged to interview family members to search for stories that exemplified faithfulness, hard work, overcoming adversity, or courage.  From that general guideline, a wide variety of films in several genres were produced: silent films, romantic comedies, music videos, thrillers, and biographies.  One of the stories, presented as a music video, was about a grandfather whose first air-solo during flight training school during WWII had engine failure, how his preparation saved his life, and what young people today can do to be well prepared for life's perils.  Several films told stories of ancestors leaving their home countries to settle in America, including some who walked across the plains during the 1800s to settle in the West and the obstacles that ensued along their journeys. Another film, presented as a romantic comedy, illustrated a troubled teenage girl observing a strong family and the positive influence that family made by sharing their love of God with her.  The youth were able to learn and use various creative film-making techniques, such as green screens, when making their productions. Gold awards, many humorous, were handed out at the film festival after the presentation of all of the videos.  It was an evening of fun, laughter, and creativity designed to bind the past and the present together, with a challenge at the end directed to the youth to consider the stories they will some day share with their posterity and what kind of life they will live."