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Chocolate Films release Kew animation Love Bug

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Chocolate Films Love Bug animationThis summer Chocolate Films Workshops were in residence at the Royal Botanics Gardens Kew, to produce an animation about pollination and pollinators called Love Bug. The film broke the record for the most individual contributions to an animation film, with 2,753 participants all taking part in most aspects of making the Love Bug film, whether that was to cut, model, stick animation props to be filmed.

The film hit the big screen from 1st December at the Richmond ODEON Studios on Red Lion Street (TW9 6RE), and will be shown before the following feature films: Frozen, The Nut Job 2, Despicable 3 and The Man who Invented Christmas.

Take your friends and family, it is a beautiful film made by the general public (all 2,753 of them) and produced by Chocolate Films.

You can view the trailer below:

 

Rachel Wang celebrating with Actor, Michael Sheen at the Social Enterprise Awards 2017

Chocolate Films’ Rachel Wang wins UK Social Enterprise Award

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Rachel Wang, the Founder and Director of South London social enterprise Chocolate Films, has won the Women in Social Enterprise Award at the UK Social Enterprise Awards 2017, which were held on 23rd November at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London.

The national awards, organised by Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) recognise excellence and outstanding achievements by social enterprises, businesses set up to for a social purpose that reinvest or donate the majority of their profits to meet their mission. There are now nearly 80,000 social enterprises in the UK, contributing £24 billion to the economy each year.

Rachel’s company Chocolate Films was founded with a unique business model for the video production industry. It employs a large full-time team of talented filmmakers who split their time between making films for high profile clients and running creative workshops for children and young people.

Chocolate Films logoChocolate Films has grown organically since it was founded in 2001 and now has offices in London and Glasgow. In 2017, Chocolate Films worked with over 5000 people on workshop projects and shot films in London, LA and Singapore for clients as diverse as Big Issue, Jeep, National Autistic Society, National Gallery, The Royal Society, St Mungo’s and Divine Chocolate.

Chocolate Films is committed to community cohesion and is the production company behind documentary project 1000 Londoners.

“I am thrilled to have won the ‘Women in Social Enterprise’ Award and so proud of my team at Chocolate Films,” says Rachel . “I am passionate about reaching out to diverse community groups and deprived backgrounds. Over the past year we have focused on running empowering projects for young women. We devised an all-female filmmaking project with Peabody Estates and celebrated strong and unique women in London in a special season of 1000 Londoners. The UK Social Enterprise Award is such an amazing recognition of our work.”

The annual celebration of British social enterprises was hosted by comedian Aisling Bea who was joined onstage by SEUK patrons, actor Michael Sheen and director/comedian Chris Addison.

Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK said: “The UK Social Enterprise Awards are a real testament to the dynamism and diversity of the UK social enterprise sector. This year’s winners have included a social enterprise employing IT consultants who bring together the unique talents of people living with autism, coffee carts transforming the lives of those without a home, a film company opening up the creative industries to young people and even a social enterprise dental service working in some of the UK’s most challenging neighbourhoods. 

“Social enterprises are continuing to prove that they’re a force to be reckoned with, they’re creating solutions to some of the biggest challenges we face and showing how business can and should be done.”

Social enterprise supply chain

Rachel Wang and the other winners were presented with bespoke trophies made by the social enterprise, Designs in Mind, which employs people with mental health issues. Social enterprises also supplied all the goods and services on the night, including the catering, rigging, drinks, flower displays and goody bags.

Sponsors of the Awards are the British Council, Big Society Capital, Cordant Group GLL, Good Finance, Here, Landmarc, Natwest, Nominet Trust, PwC, Power to Change, the Co-op, Santander, Wates, Social Investment Scotland and Unity Trust Bank.

1000 Londoners

1000 Londoners Youth Takeover

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London’s largest documentary web series 1000 Londoners is handing the reins to young people in the capital for the next 5 months, during which it will release short films made by young filmmakers, aged 11 to 19 as part of this year’s 1000 Londoners ‘Youth Takeover’. All the films have been created by first time young filmmakers that have been trained on Chocolate Films workshops.

Watch the first film, Victoria – Londoner #243:

In the summer, Chocolate Films Workshops returned to Wimbledon Bookfest to train and mentor young people in how to make strong documentaries and discover interesting stories. Participants used cameras and editing software to make these films themselves, supported by filmmaking professionals. The enthusiasm of creative young people as well as passionate facilitators resulted in 10 gripping films, showing Londoners’ lives across 10 different decades.

Heathrow Community Fund also enabled Chocolate Films to run a rich filmmaking programme at West Thames College in Hounslow. Over the course of an academic year, 40 students supported by 6 filmmakers made films about themselves. Working together as peers and being the makers as well as the subjects of the films was a challenge, but the outcome are great stories reflecting young urban life to the limit.

In Islington, 4 films were made at Summerversity , the borough’s free activities and opportunities for young people during the summer holidays. Chocolate Films inspired young people to create fascinating documentaries about healthy living and the people they know in the borough. At Uxbridge College students supported by their Media Teacher created 4 1000 Londoners films as part of their GCSE Media course.

 

About 1000 Londoners

Chocolate Films’ current flagship project 1000 Londoners is the most in-depth and expansive documentary series ever produced about the city. Each week at 1000londoners.com, viewers are able to watch a three-minute film about a new Londoner. The range of stories is as diverse as the city itself. The series includes stories such as Leni whose flat burned down in London’s 2011 riots, David who captains the Woolwich Ferry, political mural artist Brian Barnes OBE, transgender magician Victoria and Samson an ex-gang member now born again Christian. 1000 Londoners is produced by South London based film production company and social enterprise, Chocolate Films. The filmmakers from Chocolate Films both produce the films and provide opportunities to young people and community groups to make their own short documentaries, which will contribute to the 1000 films.

Rachel Wang Nominated for the UK’s Largest Diversity Awards

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Rachel Wang FRSA, a black business leader and social entrepreneur from Wandsworth, has been nominated for the Entrepreneur of Excellence Award at The National Diversity Awards 2017.

The Breathtaking Liverpool Anglican Cathedral will play host to this year’s awards, to be held on 8th September. Britain’s most inspirational and selfless people will come together to honour the rich tapestry of our nation, recognising individuals and groups from grass-roots communities. The prestigious black tie event recognises nominees in their respective fields of diversity including age, disability, gender, race, faith, religion and sexual orientation.

Rachel Wang is an award-winning Black British filmmaker with fifteen years experience producing digital content for museums and galleries. Rachel is the founder of Social Enterprise Mark holder Chocolate Films, a video production company based in Battersea, where she oversees the production of factual content for a wide range of clients including The National Gallery, TATE, Museum of London, IoD, National Autism Society, Facebook and Arup.

Rachel set up Chocolate Films as a not-for-profit social enterprise that runs an extensive outreach programme alongside its film production services. Chocolate Films Workshops offers opportunities and training in media to over 2000 disadvantaged young people every year. Rachel is also the Creative Director of the largest documentary series ever made about a city – www.1000londoners.com, a community cohesion project that celebrates the diversity of the capital.

The National Diversity Awards receives over 20,000 nominations and votes annually. Founder & CEO Paul Sesay said, “Unlocking Britain’s diverse talent and rewarding unsung champions remains at the heart of these awards. As we enter our 6th year, I know there are still so many game changers who remain unnoticed and unheard. We aim to provide a platform for those who have the passion and determination to spread the positive message of inclusivity. I look forward to learning about this year’s nominees and witnessing their spectacular journeys.”

Nominations are now open and close 9th June 2017 – so don’t miss out on your chance to get involved! Shortlisted nominees will be announced shortly after this date. To nominate Rachel Wang please visit nominate.nationaldiversityawards.co.uk, or for a nomination form please email emma@nationaldiversityawards.co.uk.

New Media Programme for Vulnerable Adults Living in Woolwich

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In July, Social Enterprise Mark holder Chocolate Films launches a large scale media and film-making programme in the heart of Woolwich for disadvantaged residents of the borough.

They are are offering people who have complex issues such as substance misuse and mental health issues, as well as those experiencing difficulties finding housing, childcare and employment, a range of training and skills opportunities in media. Chocolate Films will support and train up to 20 people from across Greenwich Borough.

Participants will gain practical film-making skills with professional filmmakers on the latest digital equipment, including sessions on tablet and smartphone film-making, social media and digital marketing, interview and presentation techniques. They will be trained in PAT testing and will receive AQA accreditation as part of the programme.

Chocolate Films hope that participants on the workshops will see a meaningful and positive long term effect on their lives, transforming their confidence and opportunities for the future. They are working in conjunction with Lifeline and CGL, who are experts in supporting vulnerable participants and who will be offering recruitment, advice and guidance throughout the programme.

The programme has been borne out of the success of the 2 and a half year programme where Chocolate Films trained a number of Greenwich based participants in setting up their own film-making social enterprise. The success of this project can be witnessed in Mark and Christine, who after starting our training with no experience in film-making, have now set up their own social enterprise partnership SElect18.

Mark explains, “Being involved in Chocolate Films workshops has helped my recovery beyond any words I can summon; indeed, I struggled so much with social phobia that I doubt I’d have been able to express myself before my involvement with Chocolate Films. The film-making process has helped me overcome these issues with social phobia and awkwardness and to realise that one of my strengths is actually in social settings with an ability to communicate. A lot of this happened in film planning sessions and later during filming and editing. The sort of change I experienced cannot happen in the normal therapeutic setting I’m used to, I needed the challenging but safe, real life scenarios of being involved in film-making. Social phobias and anxiety is a very common issue for those recovering from substance use and dependence, and is often the cause of relapse.”

Chocolate Films is a film production company based in South London that works with disadvantaged people to help them improve their lives through developing media and communication skills. Commenting on the new project, Rachel Wang, CoDirector of Chocolate Films said: “ I am really passionate about offering media skills and training to support and encourage participants as part of their recovery. This was new ground for us 3 years ago, and so I am thrilled that we now have the expertise to continue to offer these workshops to participants in the borough of Greenwich.”