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Related
Videos Producer
- Katrina Haworth |
VHS-255 or DVD-255 LETTERS FROM THE FRONT - $89.50 Grades 6 and up
This
20
minute program was produced by Katrina Haworth, a Grade 8 student
(2001) with the Thames
Valley District School Board. She created this moving video based on
the letters her grandfather wrote home to his family and photographs
he took while serving in Europe during World War II. The letters
and photos, recall the horror of the time period; the bombings in
England, the D-Day invasion at Normandy, the Canadians push through
Italy, France, Belgium and Holland. Scattered among the letters are
interviews with two living relatives who recall the letters and the
events of Canadians serving overseas. This video was one of the
recipients of the Lawson Award for Literary
Excellence. Well designed,
thought provoking and authentic, this video will be of interest to
students from Grade 7 and up.
VHS-255 or DVD-255: $89.50 (with public
performance rights) Copyright 2001.
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In early 2001, while in Grade 8, Katrina Haworth came across a large box of letters and photographs that had belonged to her Grandfather from when he served in Canada's armed forces during World War II. The producer was taken aback by the depth of the letters as her grandfather described in great detail the struggle he was witnessing and the day to day life as a private caught up in the enormity of the war. After reading his many letters she spoke with two living family relatives and decided then to produce this exceptional program. Here is part of an interview with the producer. --------------------------------------- Interviewer: Katrina, can you tell us why you decided to put together this video program? Katrina: After I read my grandfather's letters I was awestruck by what he and others went through while they served with our armed forces. Our generation has never seen such a catastrophe as this and I think the terrorist attacks on Sept 11 really brought home to me the enormous sacrifices that our grand parents made. I really wish I had been able to speak with my grandfather, but he passed away when I was only 7. Interviewer: What impact do you think your program will have on other students. Katrina: I hope they will get a lot out of the program. I hope many will talk to their own grand parents about what they have gone through and perhaps even look into their own history a little. I also think teenagers today should be more aware of the sacrifices others have made so we can enjoy the lifestyle we have today. I know that might sound lame to many people, but I really believe our lifestyle is easy to take for granted. Lastly I hope some students will look at my work and decide they could do this project better than I. It would be wonderful if other students got involved in such worthwhile projects and really bent the creative envelope a bit. It doesn't matter in what format, whether a video, a book, a web site or whatever, just use your imagination, so I guess I hope it might inspire some other students to try to "think outside the box", if you know what I mean. Interviewer: How did you feel after completing the project. Katrina: I was excited and actually quite sad. It was very hard reading the letters knowing that this is what my grandfather went through. I also found it hard to interview my two relatives. My Aunt in particular shook me up when she talked about seeing soldiers in the hospital who had no arms, or legs and one soldier who was just in a basket. It's frightening to think the horrible things that can go on and still do today in parts of the world. I think for a lot of teenagers we don't think about such things. You know, you go to a movie and see somebody get shot or cut up and you're sitting there drinking your pop and eating chips or something and you think, "this is entertaining". Actually I am not sure I really agree with some of the violence we are exposed to as kids, but maybe that might be another video I would work on, or maybe someone else. Interviewer: Thanks Katrina for your comments and congratulations on being named one of the recipients of the Lawson Award For Literary Excellence. You have produced a video to be proud of and we are pleased to distribute to schools across Canada. Katrina: Thank you.
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