Sixty Children and Young People aged 10 to 18, who created an original movie depicting the nativity in a fresh way, showcased their work in Cineworld, Kingswood on Sunday 5th December.
Even the recent weather conditions couldn’t stop audiences packing in the cinema for two sell-out performances as they laughed, cried and applauded their way through the thirty minute show.
Beverleyhem was inspired by the question “What if the Christmas Story took place today?” A modern take on the Nativity set in a secondary school; there are no shepherds, wise men, or Roman soldiers, but teachers, children, geeks, and journalists from the award winning ‘Yeah!’ Magazine! Beverleyhem aimed to make the Christmas story relevant to those hearing it for the first or hundredth time.
According to Andy Guilder, Producer of Beverleyhem “One of the questions I’ve been asked a lot is “Why did you do this?”. It’s simple… I wanted to give the young people I work with every day the chance to enjoy, achieve and contribute in an exciting creative activity. Beverleyhem is the result. A unique project, the scale of which has not been attempted before!”
“I also saw a recent poll carried out for BBC’s Newsround, saying that only 44% of 7-11 year-olds regarded Christmas day as a celebration of the birth of Jesus. I found it sad that a message of love, hope and peace was being lost behind a commercial mess of tinsel and presents. As a Christian, I wanted to unpack the Nativity story and bring it to life for a new generation. “
The final cut of ‘Beverleyhem’ was made available to participants on DVD, and the movie can be viewed in full, for free, on the Beverleyhem website.
