2007 The Panthers Project

Young people from Cornwallis Youth Club worked with filmmaker Carla MacKinnon and youth worker Tristram Bent to create a documentary about the Islington Panthers, a local youth basketball team.

The Panthers are split into under 16s and under 18s and follow a rigorous training programme under coach Guy Lawrence. The players are disciplined and committed,but is it enough to fulfil their dreams of professional basketball careers?

The project offered participants training and experience with a range of audio visual equipment including Sony Z1 cameras and editing software. Interview techniques, storytelling and sound were also key elements in the project.

Workshop participants focused on the reasons for and development of the recent rise of basketball in the UK and interviewed key players in the UK basketball industry.

This 6 month project ran until summer 2007 and the film was premiered at Reel Islington, part of the Holloway Arts Festival in July 2007.

"The club has given me an opportunity I wouldn’t get anywhere else, so I seized the chance when it came. I will be so proud when the film is shown." Justin, 16,

Funded by the Big Lottery Fund.