'Gingerism' film wins award for Boys' Brigade members

DESPITE its name the Boys' Brigade also welcomes girls, and a film made by some of its members in Nottingham highlights inequalities including sexism.

Now, the light-hearted film – which delivers a serious message – has won a national award.

It was made by members of the 25th Nottingham Boys' Brigade Company, and was originally inspired by the famous "I look up to him" sketch which satirised class differences on The Frost Report.

Company Captain Adrian Tongue said: "It's about how people take the Mickey out of people if they are different. We were shocked when we got the letter to say we had won the award.

"It doesn't matter if you are black or if you are fat or thin or have problems, you are all welcome in the Boys' Brigade, girls as well."

The film was shot at Emmanuel Church Hall in Warren Hill, where the company meets.

The theme of the short film was "inequalities in our world."

Mr Tongue said: "We chose that because it was something which the church had been doing in the last couple of weeks.

"I wrote the original script, but they messed about with it and played with it to suit themselves. One of my other members of staff did the filming and put it on a CD."

The film triumphed in the Movie Maker category of the Be Creative 2009 awards, run by the Boys' Brigade. The category was for members over 11, and the prize was £100 of cinema vouchers.

The company's junior members also took part in the Be an Artist competition, and 11-year-old Stuart McClymont came in the top ten out of hundreds of entries.

The 25th Nottingham Boys' Brigade Company is one of 32 Boys' Brigade companies in Notts, and attracts members mainly from Warren Hill and Top Valley.

The youth organisation celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2008, and inspired Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scouting movement.

Caroline.lowbridge@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk