A moving video about domestic violence created by six students at Kirrawee High School has been viewed more than 250,000 times.
The video titled Beneath the Skin was posted online and shared on the NSW Department of Education’s Facebook page, NSW Public Schools, this month.
The video includes a sobering story about domestic violence. Students read the story out loud and are shocked to learn it features a family in their school – giving their reactions during a series of interviews.
The NSW Department of Education has praised the video for raising awareness about a wide-spread social issue in Australia.
“This impressive film is a great example of … the power of student voice to enlighten, to influence, to highlight social justice issues in a way that strikes a chord with young people and adults alike,” Public Schools NSW Woronora River Network director Garrie Russell said.
“You cannot help but be touched by the rawness of the narrative and the beautiful simplicity of the message, ‘you are stronger than how weak they make you believe you are’.”
The six Year 9 students who created the video, as part of a wider project, were Josephine Chang, Zoe Gillett, Anna Hobson, Ben Rainford, Erica Rowley and Jami Shergold.
School principal Paul Owens said he was very proud of the students involved. He said the students had worked with a film company Filmpond to create the polished video.
“We sent them the narrative of what the students were trying to achieve and Filmpond worked on the video as well.”
He said the school had been inundated with feedback since the video was shared online.
“I have had more messages than I could shake a stick at.”
He said White Ribbon had even come through the school to interview the students and they were rapt with the students’ work.
Mr Owens said the goal of project-based learning was not only to learn about social issues but to come up with solutions or ways to help – and the students had done exactly that.
NSW Department of Education search and online engagement manager Eva Chodzinksi said the video had gone viral since it was shared on Facebook.
“The extent to which this video has been shared and viewed is testimony to the incredible maturity of the students featured and the power of their message.”
