A film competition with an interesting format, “Thank You, I Don’t Smoke!”, was announced in August this year and was aimed at students from middle and secondary schools. The competition was held under the patronage of President Piotr Roman and Jacek Klakoćar, the Lower Silesian State Provincial Sanitary Inspector.
Seven films were submitted to the competition. The students approached the issue of smoking among their peers with great honesty. They addressed the fact that parents often finance their children’s addiction, frequently without realizing it. They also explored the problem of standing up to peers who smoke and the difficulty of pointing out the problem to a smoking friend.
The technically best and most interesting film proved to be the production made by students of II Liceum Ogólnokształcące: Michał Bednarski, Marek Kozłowski and Urszula Dachnij. The short film “Cigarettes? No, Thank You” told the story of two friends, one who smoked and one who did not. The authors presented, in a skilful and very honest way, how the main character, a non-smoker, made a conscious decision not to light a cigarette after all. The students’ supervisor was Iwona Florkowska.
Second place went to the film “Thank You, I Don’t Smoke,” made by students of I Prywatne Gimnazjum in Bolesławiec: Magdalena Przystarz, Julia Gołębiowska and Elisa Laudani. Their supervisor was Irmina Nowak.
Third place was awarded to the short film “Smoking Kills,” made by students of Publiczne Gimnazjum Zakonu Pijarów and produced by Paweł Kozicki and Paweł Stefanow. Their supervisor was Father Adam Langhammer.
Students from Gimnazjum No. 4 (MZS No. 1) received an honourable mention: Oskar Piotrowski, Maciej Kierys and Szymon Mateusz for the film “Thank You, I Don’t Smoke.” Their supervisor was Tomasz Zabawa
The main aims of the competition were to promote a healthy lifestyle; show the harmful effects of smoking on people, society and the environment; develop assertive attitudes and stimulate young people’s creativity; and learn and improve skills in using filmmaking techniques and the language of film. It is worth recalling that young people can develop their filmmaking skills at the Film Education Workshop operating at BOK-MCC.
The prizes for the winners were funded by the Mayor of Bolesławiec from the Municipal Programme for the Prevention and Resolution of Alcohol-Related Problems. The films were selected by a competition committee consisting of: Monika Fink, Beata Mrozik from the Health Education and Health Promotion Department of the County Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Bolesławiec, and Maria Barbara Wojciechowska (the mayor’s plenipotentiary for the prevention and resolution of alcohol-related problems).
The competition organisers plan to use the films in prevention activities. On 10 December, BOK-MCC, together with the County Sanitary and Epidemiological Station, plans to organise a meeting for middle- and secondary-school students about diseases associated with cigarette smoking. In addition to a lecture by an oncologist, some of the films submitted to the competition will be presented at the meeting.