Derry young people create poignant film to highlight dangers of the internet

‘Viral’ was created in partnership with the Department of Justice and shows ‘Rachel’ (Grace Doherty) deal with the fallout after an intimate photo she shares with ‘Conor’ is shared throughout her school. ‘Conor’ (Aodhán Kehoe) shares the photo in confidence with a friend, who is teasing him about having an ‘imaginary’ girlfriend and that friend then spreads it to others . ‘Rachel’ is forced to navigate through the teasing and the judgment of others before things finally come to a head when her parents find out.

The film, which was written and directed by Roma Harvey, the Drama Facilitator and Co-ordinator in Studio 2, was premiered in the Brunswick Moviebowl on Tuesday, June 27 to an audience of cast, crew, family members and friends.

Roma said: “This was a youth work project in conjunction with the Department of Justice. The project was about preventing crimes from happening amongst young people. One particular crime we looked at was online crime and the consequences of sharing inappropriate pictures of an underage person. The young people involved in the project were involved in workshops in the leadup to the film to learn about online safety and they were involved in the creation of the film. It was a great opportunity for the young people to learn about online safety as well as skills in the media and film. “This film will be used in workshops around schools and in different youth centres to raise questions about what happens online. I think that educational spin on it is a bit different and I’m really looking forward to seeing what conversations it raises among young people.”

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Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Councillor Patricia Logue, was ‘delighted’ to be invited to the screening and hopes plenty of young people and their parents will benefit from it.

She said: “This is a very hard-hitting film but it’s a very at one because of the subject matter. I would like to thank the actors and all those involved in the making of this film because what you have done here is going to be a tool for many, many young people to learn from and look at. It will help youth providers, teachers and parents to inform their young people of the dangers online. Social media is really, really good but it can also be really, really dangerous. Once you press that button, that’s it – as the film says, it’s gone viral. “If this film goes some way to helping young people out there who this may have happened to or are in the position where this could happen to them, then that’s great. Talk to your parents, talk to your youth workers – there’s nothing that can’t be fixed. I hope all schools and services use this tool to help young people and maybe not-so-young people in the future.”

Ollie Green, Arts Director at Studio 2 and Greater Shantallow Community Arts said: “This has been a really exciting project for us to be involved in, to look at an issue that we know will affect so many young people. Working with our youth team and with Roma, we looked at the dangers for young people online. This was shot as an educational film but I think it’s very important in terms of the messages that come across in it.

"We’re delighted to have worked with so many wonderful local artists on this project and I want to thank them all for their engagement in this project.”

The film will be available to available for viewing in the coming weeks and will be rolled out in youth groups, schools and other areas soon.