Wednesday Night at the Movies is hosting special screening for the Friends of Boca Raton’s Breaking the Silence short film series produced by Palm Beach County youth Wednesday, Aug. 15 at 8:30 p.m. at Alco Boynton Cinema, the week prior to the start of a new school year.
Producer and youth mentor Nicely Jean of Boynton Beach, who works with Boca Raton’s Promise, networked with the Delray Beach Knights of Pythagoras Mentoring Network and Royal Palm Beach filmmaker Gary Davis hosted a one-week program for students to learn how to produce film/video and music in Delray Beach. The program was taught by Davis and Jean, and in the process, they encouraged the students to find and embrace their inner creativity. Through hands-on training, participants were given the opportunity to express mental health issues they faced.
Natasha Leonard, a 10th-grade student from the Dreyfoos School of the Arts, used the program to star, edit and produce her own documentary featuring the Breaking the Silence initiative.
“It was an awesome program,” Leonard said. “You totally learned a lot about taking control of your project from Mr. Davis, and Mr. Nicely was an encouraging mentor. He’s pretty cool and funny. He was the comedic relief.”
Davis’ cousin, 9-year-old Deerfield Beach resident Xavier Armour, a fifth-grader at Quiet Waters Elementary School, produced a short film on bullying. In his film, Armour tells about the horror he goes through in school, being harassed by bullies every day with little to no support from the teachers or administration. He thanks his mother for listening and intervening. “If my mom didn’t listen and help me, my life would have been much worse,” Armour said. “If you have a problem and are suffering, just talk to someone, anyone, someone in your life.”
Breaking the Silence is a project created by a local nonprofit group Boca’s Promise, and its mission is to educate, promote early detection, treatment and to encourage youth to open up and talk about their inner darkness, issues that weigh heavily on them. Youths use their personal experiences, along with other talents to shed light to mental health through their talents.
Alco Boynton Cinema is located at 9764 S. Military Trail in Boynton Beach. For more information, call (561) 366-7500.
