Eastlea School Hosts Glitzy Film Premiere

14 October 2011: Eastlea Community School in Newham, East London, rolled out the red carpet on Friday for the premiere of their Amnesty International film, I Talk Out Loud.

The film, made by Handcrafted Films, follows the school's Amnesty youth group as they organise a campaign against stoning in Iran, and it will be shown across the globe to encourage people to join the human rights' organisation. There has already been interest from as far as Australia in showing the film.  

The school beat off competition from hundreds of other groups across the UK to be the stars of I Talk Out Loud.

An invited audience of around 200 friends and family put on their glad rags to watch a series of performances to mark the premiere. The performances included a dance, a small play, a reading of poetry from Tasrin Shahana's Year 7 and Year 8 English classes and ended with a piano recital from Denys Ilyushenko, a member of the school's Amnesty group.

Anne Montague, Amnesty International UK's Youth group co-ordinator, said:

'There are over 700 Amnesty Youth Groups from all over the UK - nearly all based in secondary schools - and we had the difficult job of choosing just one of them for the film. We visited quite a few groups before making our decision, but basically Eastlea charmed us in about five minutes.

'Like all our groups, they have such a great passion for human rights, but they also put the fun into campaigning. We have been inspired by working with the group, and already they are inspiring other young people to talk out loud too. After watching the film five schools have already set up new youth groups and we are hoping for even more before Christmas.'

Nazanin Shirani, curriculum leader at Eastlea, said:

'It was a really special day for the students. They have worked really hard to have a chance to show what they are capable of doing, and it was great that they were able to do it in such a glamorous way. They have all had a brilliant time and the whole school is really proud of them.'

Clare Bracey, Amnesty International UK's death penalty campaigner, added:

'It was a real privilege to watch the Eastlea Amnesty Group develop their campaign to end stoning in Iran. Their passion and commitment towards ending the death penalty has been inspirational.'

The film has already been watched by over 1,000 people online and has directly led to the formation of five new Amnesty Youth Groups in the UK.