Successful Students

The successful applicants to the 2010 Student Media Fund have now been announced - see below for details.

Jessie Ayles, Goldsmiths University

A Way of Being Free (Documentary Film)

Challenging negative associations with Africa, this will be a story of South Africa's children, overcoming hardships and building a new culture of peaceful coexistence through the medium of circus arts. For its students and collaborators, Zip Zap circus is more than just a circus, it's a family and a home. "A Way of Being Free" will give a voice to the youth of South Africa who are breaking down social norms one performance at a time.

Marta Migdalek, Cardiff University

Why Wall? Social Care or Social Exclusion Behind the Fence Encircling Favela Dona Marta in Rio de Janeiro (Radio)

Favela Dona Marta, one of Rio's shanty towns, is like others - colourful, lively, yet dangerous - except that it is encircled by a 3-meter-high wall. Funded by a $20 million government plan to reduce crime levels in favelas, the building of the wall was met by an aggressive reaction from human rights organisations who linked it to a modern-day ghetto. This radio piece will investigate the issues surrounding the construction of the wall while presenting its human aspect - the favela itself.

Fany de la Chica, Royal Holloway University of London

The Dove Wants to Fly (Documentary Film)

This film will centre around the life of Batan, a young boy injured by a landmine in his native Cambodia. Living in the 'Dove's House', an education and training centre for injured children founded by a Spanish priest, Batan takes an active part in helping other children in his situation. Following the daily lives of the priest and Batan as they journey to surrounding villages, visiting with families and encouraging children to travel to the centre, the film will depict the reality of life in post-war Cambodia.

Emma Greaves, Goldsmiths University

The Birds That Flew (Documentary Film)

This film will follow three young women, Jerusha, Margaret and Alice, who have grown up in a children's home for AIDS orphans in Thika, Kenya as they prepare for their move out of the home and into society as independent adults. Living with the stigma attached to being an AIDS orphan, this film will document how these girls face the challenges of being marginalized for a disease they don't have, in a country with unemployment and poverty, as they undertake this 'coming of age' journey.

Yi Luo, Goldsmiths University

Living Without Men: A Story of Chinese Celibate Women (Documentary Film)

If you only had two options, to submit to an arranged marriage or take a vow of celibacy for the rest of your life, which would you choose? This film will tell the story of Chinese women who chose the latter and kept the vow for 80 years with pride and loneliness, but no regret. The 'Celibate Women' of Southern China take pride in their decision to live their lives without men.

Zoe Graham, University College Falmouth

Mozambique Landmine Victims (Documentary Film)

How do landmine victims cope with life after an event that has potentially alienated them from their communities and loved ones? What is being done to help them? Are there stories that show hope? This film will focus on landmine victims in Mozambique and how they cope with this life-altering trauma. Landmines are the third leading cause of amputations in Mozambique and continue to pose a threat 18 years after the end of four decades of civil war, which shattered the country's economy and infrastructure.