When Rose Patch imagines Maple Ridge 20 years from now, she envisions a town sans garbage with electric trains transporting people to work, more bikes, but sadly less forest.
The 13-year-old Fairview elementary students laments that all the development will affect animal habitat.
“I wish Maple Ridge could find a way to balance the expansion and find a way to live together with the animals,” she says in a short film, which won first place in Cinema Politica’s inaugural youth film festival.
The festival took place on May 8 as part of B.C. Youth Week and was open to youth from Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows 25 years and younger.
Hosted by Cinema Politica Ridge Meadows in partnership with the Golden Ears Transition Initiative, the theme was “Ridge Meadows 2034.”
The judges: Lindy Sisson, executive director of the ACT and a champion for arts in B.C.’s schools and communities; Kevin Francis, from Mission and who is a member of the Council of Canadian Mission chapter and founder of Cinema Politica Fraser Valley chapter; and Jeffrey Emerson, a filmmaker and resident of Maple Ridge.
Organizer Oosha Ramsoondar said the festival was a great success with audience feedback was positive on the quality of the films, the creativity and the ideas expressed.
She added comments from the audiences included: “I feel confident for the future of our community”; and, “these kids have a great future in the film industry.”
The winning prize was $500, plus a gift card, and there were no losers as all prize winners received cash and other gifts.