Members of the DBMS film team with their teachers in Jamshedpur on Thursday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, June 30: Growing up isn’t easy. Crossing the threshold of childhood and embracing adolescence entails a great deal of courage, introspection and understanding. Those who succeed make a life. Others lose it.

In a city where teen suicide has become a routine affair, a coming-of-age high school story is indeed welcome. A group of nine Class XI students of DBMS English School, who have closely felt the suicide city’s weak pulse, have embarked on an ambitious mission to capture on reel the travails of teenage.

The 15-minute project titled Nobody’s Child is the second short film by students of school. It will be screened at Shorts 2011, a film festival organised by the Society for Promotion of Professional Excellence (SPPE), a cultural wing of Tata Steel and Calcutta-based Take 5 Communications. The two-day event will be held from July 2 at SNTI Auditorium in Bistupur.

“We had been toying with this idea for some time. Films make an altogether different impact on the society, besides honing creative skills of students, many of who may want to take up filmmaking as a career. We want more and more youngsters to get involved in such projects. It channels their energy in a positive direction. We started the tradition last year and will continue it,” said DBMS principal Rajani Shekhar.

Nobody’s Child deals with adolescent problems faced in school and in the society. The protagonist is a Class X girl and the tag line of the film is “the test of courage is to live, not die”. Work on the film began two months ago while it was shot on campus for two days. The story has been conceptualised by students and the script penned by Class XI student Sayantani Das.

Teachers have guided the group throughout pre-production, production and post-production. The directorial team consists of five teachers led by Shekhar.

“A teenager has to go through various problems in everyday life — right from academic pressure to social stigma. And they often get discouraged. Our teen story will tell them how to fight instead of giving up,” said Shireen Mohanty, another Class XI student involved in the project.

Last year, the students of DBMS had made a film on issues that plague physically challenged students in school. The principal is sanguine the new film will be an instant hit too.

Students of Loyola School too have embarked on a movie project on suicide prevention. Shooting is on for the film.