'Reuse, Recycle' is our latest of Film of the Month

We are delighted to reveal our latest Film of the Month winner Reuse, Recycle. This short curricular film explores creative ways of repurposing plastic products rather than disposing of them, from students at The Derby High School. Plus a special mention to It's a Mind Game from filmmaker Ali, from Farnborough.

Why not show Reuse, Recycle (engaging for all ages) in your educational setting to inspire students to create their own short film about climate change and the environment.

We caught up with the young people and educators who made Reuse, Recycle to find out more about their filmmaking process.

What inspired your group to make Reuse, Recycle?

We made this film as part of our school production of Beauty and the Beast. The programmes for the show were going to be put in these small plastic boxes and we were worried about the impact of single use plastic so we wanted to make a film to be shown at the beginning of the show with ideas of how you could reuse your plastic box.

Why is recycling an important issue to you?

Recycling is important because we don't really want to end up in a world surrounded by plastic where no one knows what to do with it. We need to stop producing more plastic just to end up on landfill.

What message would you like audiences to take away from watching your film?

We want audiences to watch our film and consider how they might reuse all sorts of items in their house and school. Think about if there is another use for something and how that might prevent us from using another single use plastic. We want everyone to become more aware of sustainability.

How has making this film supported your curricular learning?

We made this film during our Media Studies lessons and continued in Film Club. We are really lucky at The Derby High School that we have Media Studies as an option because we are free to create films about anything we are passionate about and while we do it our film making skills improve all the time.

What have you learnt about filmmaking through this project?

We learnt how to work in larger groups and coordinate the editing process. Our editor Ben was fantastic at bringing us all together to make out film cohesive. We were also looking at match cuts and jump cuts in our media lessons so this inspired our work too.

What piece of advice would you give to someone thinking about entering Film of the Month for the first time?

Just keep making films. Every time you make a film you will learn something new and that will make your next film better. It is a great way to share your passions and interests. It has also improved our confidence as we feel like better film makers having achieved Film of the Month status.

The Derby High School's film will now be showcased to over 300,000 film club members online, and are featured on our Into Film YouTube channel. They have secured a £100 Amazon voucher to help further develop their filmmaking. Think you could win Film of the Month? Find out more about how you can enter our Film of the Month competition.

• The Biggest Little Farm (2018, PG, 91 mins) engaging for 7-16
  Documentary about a married couple who follow their dream of creating a sustainable farm over eight years.
• I Am Greta (2020, 12, 102 mins) engaging for 14+
  Intimate documentary following the influential environmental activist Greta Thunberg and her quest to prevent climate change.
• The People vs Climate Change (2021, U, 63 mins) engaging for 11-16
  A documentary following seven members of the UK's first ever Citizens' Assembly on Climate Change.
• Hybrids (2017, U, 6 mins) engaging for 11-16
  3D animated short which envisions a future where sea pollution has led wildlife to adapt in unexpected ways.

Special Mention

Each month we highlight one runner up that we think deserves special recognition for their filmmaking achievement. This month we are excited to feature It's a Mind Game, a masterfully shot and staged drama about two chess players engaging in a battle of wits, from filmmaker Ali, from Farnborough.