York creatives tackle taboo subject for Samaritans' 60th anniversary

A York St John University-based social enterprise has created a series of hard hitting short films to mark the Samaritans’ 60^th anniversary and to raise awareness of the charity and its work in York and North Yorkshire.

Inspired Youth, a not-for-profit digital production enterprise based at York St John University’s Phoenix Centre for young creative businesses, has created five short films to highlight the importance of talking about problems before they become too much for the individual. Led by York entrepreneurs Kevin Curran and Chris James, Inspired Youth develops creative projects which aim to inform, challenge, educate and inspire audiences. 

Kevin Curran said:
“The five films for the Samaritans are each a minute and a half long and centre on people from different backgrounds – a mum, a soldier, a business man, a teenager and an older lady. The films, which were developed as a result of conversations with volunteers at the Samaritans, encourage the audience to identify with the actors’ situations and recognise how reaching out and talking to someone early on can help. 

“Our work with the Samaritans will allow the York team to take the charity’s work to other audiences through face-to-face outreach sessions and online campaigns, to widen their reach and help with their outreach work.”   

Inspired Youth is one of 13 creative businesses which rent affordable space at York St John University’s Phoenix Centre. Darrell Hooper, Phoenix Business and Innovation Manager at York St John University, said: 
“York’s young businesses such as Inspired Youth benefit from support and guidance in the Centre’s creative environment and from connecting with other creative businesses with which they can collaborate. The Samaritans’ production is in fact a good example of how the Centre helps create connections as it is the result of collaboration between Inspired Youth and former Phoenix Centre residents, Spinning Top Films.”

The productions were aired for the first time at a private screening on Saturday at Reel Cinema in York, attended by the Rt Hon Lord Mayor of York; the Reverend Malcolm Macnaughton, Chief of Staff to the Archbishop of York; Samaritan representatives; actors and producers.

For more information about Inspired Youth, please visit Inspired Youth.