Christophe Istace's Page

Name of Organization, Institution, Company, or School:

Loupiote Asbl

Focus of Study/axe de l'étude/foco de estudio

From the age of 14, I had the opportunity to discover and experience art as a communicational force through the medium of theatre. My filmmaking studies in Great Britain later enabled me to pursue my passion and made me realize that, on account of cinema's ability to reach a wide and diverse audience, the cinema can be used as a great tool for social education - championing the core values of openness to others, sharing, solidarity, freedom of expression and tolerance.

However, after two years of working on international productions, I came to realize that filmmaking that deals with real-life issues - that reflects the society we live in - was unfortunately not achieving the level of success it deserved. It was not well-known by the general public, and was sometimes even shunned by it.

I therefore returned to Belgium with the desire to do something — to set up an educational film project, designed to educate viewers, from an early age, about the beauty and relevance of films with humanist messages.

So in 2004, together with other young audiovisual professionals concerned with this issue, we founded the non-profit organization “Loupiote”, which was set up to promote, distribute and produce films to be used in artistic and social education for young and older people.

Since children, teenagers and young adults from all backgrounds are washed over by a torrent of audiovisual creations, our association developed activities to encourage them to develop a critical approach towards film. These activities include screenings and debates at festivals, collective creation workshops at schools and for associations, as well as the creation of educational tools.

Film, TV, the Internet... nowadays images are playing an increasingly significant role in the lives of young people. Through its various projects in Belgium and abroad, Loupiote helps children to develop a critical mind for sorting through and selecting what they watch, to gradually abandon their status as "passive consumers of images" in order to become viewers that are critically aware and increasingly drawn to responsible cinema that engages with real-life issues. This could encourage a demand from young people for higher standards from cinema. Which we hope will, in turn, encourage the production of more humanistic films that serve to promote peace

What languages do you speak?

French and English

URL?

http://cinemaeducation.com/

What did you film on 12.12.12?

Young people believing in the future and active for it.