Unlikely Duo Win Film Competition

A TWO-minute film focusing on the work of the charity Mary’s Meals has won a prestigious BBC 2 Newsnight competition. The film, called Malawi, was made by 17-years-old rock drummer Joe Blanks and Mary’s Meals volunteer Greg McKinney, 23, both from Stafford.

It was one of thousands of entries submitted from across the country for the film competition ‘Oh My Newsnight’, and won first place after viewers were invited to vote from a shortlist of five on the Newsnight website.

In two minutes, the film drove home hard its message about feeding hungry children in Malawi. For the cost of an ice-cream cone bought in Leicester Square, a hungry child could be fed for a whole year in Malawi, it said.

“We shot the film in Stafford town centre and at my old school, St Andrew’s, Weston, where we fed some of the food used to feed starving children in Africa to the children there to see if they liked it - surprisingly, they all seemed to like the taste, but were amazed when we told them that for some of their African counterparts, it would be the only meal they would receive throughout the day. We had great fun making the film. Greg is a very talented film-maker and we work really well together. It’s the first time we’ve entered anything like this and we’re delighted that in winning we were able to show what good work Mary’s Meals is doing” said Joe.

Greg, who works as a volunteer for Mary’s Meals, said: “It’s a great thrill to actually win from the thousands who entered. The whole country has at least had a two-minute insight into what we are doing to feed hungry children in some of the world’s poorest countries. In Africa we can feed a child for a whole year for £5.30, and you can pay that much just for an ice-cream in London.”

Greg is an up-and-coming film maker from Stafford who graduated from Lampeter University and currently works as a Mary’s Meals volunteer. His film ‘Sticks Licks and Paradiddles’- a film about Joe Blanks' drumming career - recently won the documentary category at the Stafford film Festival.

Joe - recent endorser of 'Evans' drum heads - is the latest drumming sensation who wowed the nation with his drum solos on Brian Conley’s ‘Let me Entertain You’ programme when he finished third in the grand final from more than 6,200. Earlier, he was also picked to support Thomas Lang on part of his recent series of U.K. drum clinics. And in September, Joe manned a stand for his favourite charity at 'The Scottish Drum Day' and 'Drummer Live' where he raised over £1,000.

Mary’s Meals (marysmeals.org) was formed as a charity in 2002, and today it is feeding over 120,000 children every day in ten of the world’s poorest countries. It was named last month by Conservative leader David Cameron as his favourite charity, who also donated £100 to the charity - money he saved by not ordering House of Commons cards.