“Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.”

We have never been one to shy away from a challenge. And as a video production house, we’re ever-hungry to go beyond the scope of our work, so long as it satisfies an objective for the greater good – be it a new-found strength, broad exposure, better understandings, or even for a naturally altruistic cause.  As such, we saw an opportunity in our Christmas Short Film: Gratitude, an opportunity beyond content creation or utilising video as a magic medium in spreading our message. We saw an opportunity that allowed us to utilise our short film as a conversational piece to none other than children – the children of today.

The author stresses that he does not hold any negative connotation to the upbringing of children in today’s era, but he definitely stands corrected on stating that gratitude has been a moral value that many (himself included) have either forgotten or taken for granted in recent times, thanks to the ease, convenience and accessibility of many a thing or two – ergo the ‘lost value’ of appreciation. So, we decided that we would reach out to children and youth communities in Singapore, because we’re strong believers of the saying “It starts from the young.” Furthermore, our short film is indeed, about a story of how a young boy learnt from the actions of his loving mother; which taught him how to be appreciative and thankful for what he receives in his life, further instilling the same positive morals into his own child, and so the cycle continues.

Then, it was a matter of finding the right people and organisations to collaborate with us during the hectic Christmas festivities. First came along CatchPlus, an organisation dedicated to helping less fortunate children between the ages of 7 to 16 years through mentoring, teaching and equipping them with life skills, providing them a safe and fun environment, and ultimately fulfilling their potential to the fullest. We felt that our short film would serve as a timely moral reminder to them that it is perfectly fine that we do not become frustrated or envious of others despite any of our personal shortcomings, but be grateful with what’s placed in our hands, and strive forward to make the best out of what we have – to instill a positive mindset that would help them believe in themselves, come what may.

But, we did not want to stop there. After a short break, we were back on track. We hosted a separate event with Trybe, an organisation dedicated to helping youths, by walking alongside them and working with them towards their own success stories, primarily through programmes and activities revolving around positive social and communal impact. We felt our short film fitting for them too, as essentially, we wanted to share with them that even if life throws you a curveball, it’s alright, because it’s not about the curveball, but what you can do with it to make the best version of your dreams come true.

Both events consisted of many self-initiated elements such as a screening of our short film, bonding sessions, live music performances, pizza and of course, Christmas presents! And to our pleasant surprise, everyone was emotionally invested in this outreach. Spontaneously, we felt it best and in good faith of all parties involved that everyone jot down their own “Notes of Gratitude”, to further incorporate this ripple effect to their loved ones.

So, with what started out as a short film, we managed to achieve with our most recent volunteering efforts – to spread a social good through our work, solely because we believe that film has the power, perhaps more than any other medium, to do a plethora of things – shed light on an issue, discuss an alternate history, tell a story, start a positively social movement in the good faith of our fellow man.