'The Case', a short film produced by budding Bermudian film-maker Christopher Frith, opens the BIFF Kids Film Festival tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Liberty Theatre.

The film, produced with the help of Mr. Frith's brother, Andrew, and fellow Saltus student, Jeffrey Counsell, focuses on one night in the otherwise dull life of a security guard tasked with guarding an important briefcase.

The guard is instructed to steal the case or a dangerous adversary will execute his family.

The film has already won Mr. Frith the Best Amateur Videographer award when it featured in the Bermuda Society of Arts Tech Week Show earlier this year. One of the judges, BIFF Deputy Director Duncan Hall, was so impressed with the film that he encouraged Mr. Frith to submit it for consideration for the BIFF Kids film festival.

Mr. Frith, a graduate of the BIFF Film Academy 'boot camps', made the film in an evening following a brainstorming session with his brother and friend, who at the last minute spent the night so that the film could be completed.

"It's really fun to do," stated Mr. Frith. "It's really rewarding to see [on the big screen] something that's quite good and know that you created it."

He went on to point out that because filmmaking is a collaborative effort, you get to meet and work with new and interesting people.

Mr. Frith began making films at the age of 10 when he starting playing with a web cam. He attended the BIFF Film Academy Stage 3 film camp (for 14 to 16 year olds) in the summer of 2005, and was offered the opportunity to work on the production of Vicky and Christian Zabriskie's short film 'Dark Quarters' which screened at BIFF.

Later in 2006 he attended the Stage 3 Boot Camp again, assisted with the Stage 2 film camp (for 10-13 year olds) and edited the films produced by the camp.

Mentored by Vicky Zabriskie, he continued to make short films of his own throughout 2006.

In early 2007 he assisted with another BIFF film workshop, edited two of the BIFF Film Academy short films that will screen at this week's film festival and made a documentary about Saltus Grammar School.

Described as a young film-making buff "taking it seriously" by Mr. Hall, Mr. Frith has now purchased his own equipment, raising funds by packing groceries at Lindo's and working at BIFF. Though still keeping the budget to a minimum by making some items, like reflectors, he has purchased lamps, camera and a computer and software especially for film editing that enables him to work with sound and visual effects.

His latest effort, 'Blood Feud', he has approached in a more deliberate and professional manner, he said, than he did with 'The Case'.

From March to June of this year he developed the storyboards and schedules for the half-hour film set at The Bermuda Electric Light Company, and Butterfield and Vallis and other locations.

Anxious to promote greater media literacy among Bermuda's schoolchildren, the BIFF organising committee has developed several programmes to encourage awareness and provide opportunities for young people to explore film production.

The BIFF Kids School Screening Series, run in conjunction with the festival, features screenings for students from nursery to secondary school during the school day prior to the opening of the festival, and this year over a thousand students from ten schools and three nurseries are registered to attend the Thursday and Friday screenings.

The series of film camps introduces young people to varied career possibilities in film production, both in front of and behind the camera. Most importantly, BIFF Kids provides young filmmakers with an opportunity to screen their films, which is what it's all about.