For anyone who does not know what the BMDS Charitable Trust does, Jessica Bucher has created a documentary that lays it all out.

Her hope is it raises awareness about the financial support the non-profit offers to young people who want to study theatre.

Jessica, 19, was commissioned to create the piece after she made a short film about 24 Hours to Curtain, a Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society competition that gives teenagers 24 hours to write, rehearse and perform ten-minute plays.

“That was just something I did as a school project that [BMDS] ended up using for promotional material,” she said. “Through that, they saw what my work ethic was like, and the quality of work I could produce.”

The Trust was established in 2000 after Kate Huntington, an active BMDS member, tragically passed away in a motorcycle accident in India.

Jessica, who is pursuing a double major in strategic communication, and studio and digital arts: graphic design, at Liberty University in Virginia, was thrilled when Lisa Maule, a member of BMDS’s executive committee, reached out this summer asking if she would put her creative skills to work for the Charitable Trust.

In just under 15 minutes, Beyond the Spotlight: The BMDS Charitable Trust Impact, A Mini Documentary shows how the trust fulfills its mission, why its work is essential, and who qualifies for its financial awards. The information is shared through interviews with Jennifer Campbell, an executive member of the charity, and past recipients who are now following their dreams.

The opportunity came partly as a result of a relationship between Jessica and BMDS that started after she starred in the pantomime Sleeping Beauty.

Prior to that, her time on the stage was mainly limited to productions at Saltus Grammar School.

“I was in all of the school plays during my time at Saltus, but I didn’t start getting lead roles until I was older, until I was in my last few years of high school,” she said.

On the back of the pandemic, she decided to audition for more public performances. Her first role was as an extra in The Addams Family put on by the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Bermuda to celebrate its 50 years of existence here.

Then came Sleeping Beauty. Being cast in 2022 was “the best thing of my life”.

“I was so excited about getting that call,” she said.

That same year Jessica submitted the 24 Hours to Curtain documentary to the Bermuda Youth Film Festival, an event organised by Saltus but open to students from across the island.

“BMDS didn't run [the festival] but they knew about it, and our paths crossed there. And just being at Saltus we had a lot of crossovers with staffing. I got to meet a lot of BMDS members through that.”

Film-making started out as an interesting way to pass time.

“When I was younger, I was always making videos. The initial documentary I did for BMDS was a school project for my media studies class. Through that I was able to hone in on my craft but before I got to high school, I was already dealing with Final Cut Pro and industry level editing software like that, but that was solely just of my own interest because I just loved making videos.”

In spite of her interest in film-making and acting, she decided not to focus on either after graduating.

She said: “I initially began with a strategic communications major. It's a bachelor of science; strategic communications is basically marketing and business, that sort of thing. And then this year, I added on a graphic design major. I initially had it as a minor but then realised I was really interested in it.

“My plan is to become a creative director. They have their fingers in a lot of different pies, whether that's video advertisements or graphic design, the PR side of things, the journalism side of things … they're kind of integrated into all of the different sections within the creative industries.”

Jessica loved that she was given free rein to create the documentary on the Charitable Trust.

“I talked to Lisa and I talked to Jenn and they were like, ‘We know what you can do. We'll be happy with whatever final product you come up with, but here's some stuff we want to make sure gets in – historical and factual information about how the trust was formed,’” she said.

“Since this documentary was more informational [than my last] they wanted to include how many recipients there are of the bursaries they have given out and that sort of thing, to make sure people were correctly informed. But in terms of the tone of everything, in terms of the music and the different shots, that was just up to my creative interpretation.”

Filming took place over the course of a few days at BMDS. Editing took between 40 and 60 hours to complete.

“You get all the informational side of things when I'm talking to Jenn, but when it comes to the recipients themselves, I wanted them to be able to tell the public, ‘This is where I am now because of the trust’. I wanted it to be a testament to how much BMDS can help people to reach their goals, especially in the creative field, considering that's an industry that's not very prominent in Bermuda.”

Although pleased with the end result, as “a perfectionist”, it’s hard for her to watch and not see how things could be improved.

“There’s always gonna be something else but I think that’s just something that comes down to me being me – an over-thinker. Watching it before I sent it off the final time, I did feel like people would watch it and be impacted by it, especially by the ending. The beginning is more informational, but I think it ends on a really nice note, and will encourage people to apply to the scholarship.”

• For more information on the BMDS Charitable Trust, visitwww.bmds.bm/charitable-trust/