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| Author | Zoe Aresti |
Leading UK youth charity The Prince’s Trust has teamed up with Oscar-winning film director Andrea Arnold on its latest advertising campaign, which aims to empower young people by championing their resilience and potential.
Launched in UK cinemas on 13 September, the advert has been created in response to new research showing young people’s confidence has been suffering. This research has shown one in five 11-19 year-olds believe they will amount to nothing, one in four think people do not believe in them, and almost half believe they will struggle to find employment.
The commercial is a real coup for the Prince’s Trust as the film is the Academy Award-winning director’s first-ever brand partnership. Arnold was last seen on the big-screen with last year’s critically acclaimed American Honey, but is also known for the Oscar-winning Wasp (2004) and the Cannes Jury Prize winning Red Road (2006) and Fish Tank (2009).
To immerse the film in the realistic style she is known for, Arnold cast young people whose own lives strongly resonated with the issues the advert aims to bring awareness to. Not only did Arnold cast close to home, but also filmed the scenes in the actor’s own homes and dressed them in their own clothes.
The film is written and performed by young people who have experienced and overcome adversity, and pairs gritty realistic imagery with a reading of the poem ‘Bulletproof’ by its author, 16-year-old Maya Sourie. Sourie was the winner of last year’s national youth poetry award and spent large parts of her childhood in foster care. Speaking of her role in the film, Sourie said ‘It felt extremely important to spread the message that any circumstance you may have found yourself in should never be allowed to act as a limitation, but as a way to learn and discover the power you hold within’.
Utilising the power of the biggest screen, the Prince’s Trust aims to combine striking audio-visual images with true to life stories to inspire a generation to believe in themselves.
The advertisement is running in cinemas now.