THE Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF) is offering a series of camps this summer to youngsters interested in learning more about the art of filmmaking. Open to kids between the ages of seven and 16 years, the camps are designed to expose participants to every aspect of the filmmaking process - from acting to special effects to directing. This week Mid-Ocean News reporter Heather Wood and photographer Tamell Simons met with BIFF acting coach Katrina Kawaley-Lathan to talk about her lifelong devotion to the art.

Q: How did you become involved with the summer camps?

A: This will actually be my first year working with BIFF. Previously I'd done a lot of work in theatre around the island and both theatre and film in Canada and Australia. I saw they were looking for someone to teach the camp in August and (BIFF director) Aideen (Ratteray Pryse) got in contact with me. We discussed it and it just went from there.

Q: What will you be doing?

A: I'll be doing the acting coaching primarily, working with Jon Legere who'll be doing the film side of it. I'll basically be working with the kids and getting them to translate their acting experience - if they have any - into film acting because most kids, I would assume, would have more stage acting experience than film. So we'll be obviously working on the acting in general and then sort of discussing how it translates to acting on film

Q: What's the difference?

A: Basically you have to be a lot more aware of where the cameras are. You need to be sure of what your face is doing - you need to be a little bit more subtle with your expressions. A lot of it is about positioning and camera angles. There are a lot of takes. There's a lot of repetition. So it's just getting used to the film business rather than the immediacy of theatre, which takes a little bit of an adjustment.

Q: What's your background in teaching?

A: Well I've been teaching all my life in a bunch of different things. In camps, swimming, dance and most recently I got my teaching qualifications in Australia. So I'm a certified teacher and at the moment am doing some substitute teaching (at the) primary school (level).

Q: Have you taught acting before?

A: Yep. I majored in drama at Queen's University in Canada and so I did a lot of acting and teaching there. Probably the most - not the most important - but the most teaching I did in Canada, I taught first year drama at Queen's. I was the teaching assistant for that so I had a group of 20 first year students that I would teach for about three hours a week. And then I've done some other things with younger kids as well.

Q: How long were you in Australia?

A: For a year.

Q: Why Australia?

A: It's just a great place. I'd always wanted to go there and it's really well known for its quality in teacher education. It's one of the leading countries in the world to get your teaching qualification from. So it was a nice place to go, a nice trip. And it was really nice there, just beautiful.

Q: Have you done any acting yourself other than as a teacher?

A: Oh, of course. I'm always involved. I love to perform. So wherever I am I do something. I've done pantomimes, I've done comedy theatre here, school shows, university shows. Community theatre in Canada and Australia. I always like to keep a hand in.

Q: Is it something that you'd want to pursue as a career?

A: Oh definitely. I think that both teaching and acting are really important to me so I will definitely be taking turns with them. For now I'll be doing the teaching and in a few years I'll go away and do some more acting and then see how it goes.Q: As a hobby, is acting something that's easy to pursue in Bermuda?

A: Of course. I think that we've so much natural talent here in Bermuda. We kind of take it for granted because there's so many talented people. That's why I think the (BIFF) camp is such a good idea. It's a great way to introduce kids to their creative side and to get their creative juices flowing and really get them involved in something. Especially because in Bermuda, there's a lot of focus on acting - which is good - and that kind of theatre but not so much focus on films with kids. And I think it's a really good thing to get involved with. It's something that's internationally available. It's not something they could just do here. They could take it anywhere in the world and work. All they need is themselves to act - go to a theatre, apply, audition, do a film. So it's good to get these kinds of skills that they can work with and use their entireves. Q: What age group will you be teaching at the camps?

A: The camps are from seven to 16 years. And over the time it'll be a mix. I'll do one camp that's younger and then the older and intermediate groups as well, but basically for kids between seven and 16.Q: For a seven year old how does a parent know this is a great thing for their child?

A: I think it can benefit anyone. Just getting out there and performing and being creative. Just expressing themselves in a different way is going to be good fory kid.Q: Were you a precocious child? Is that what it takes?

A: You could say I was. But I think if you have shy kids (acting) is going to work to help bring that out. It's going to help them become a little more self-confident. It's going to help them get used to having people watching them, help them get used to being in the public eye a bit more. And then if you have a precocious kid it'll be right up their alley. I think that all anyone needs is a little bit of imagination and a little bit of help - which will come from me - and then they can be right on their way.Q: What's been your favourite performance so far? Does one stanut?

A: I don't know if I can just pick one. I really have enjoyed just about everything that I've done. But I have to say that whenever you're working with a group of people who are all professional or who are all focused on a certain thing. Like when I was in Canada some of the shows that I worked with where everyone was a drama major, everyone was a professional actor - you really get a high quality product when you work with those people because everybody is so enthusiastic about what they're doing, everyone loves it and when you really love theatre and film and performance then you can almost guarantee a fantastic product and I think that's what I enjoy most, working with people who love it as much as I do.Q: Did you have any formal involvement with BIFF prior to this?

A: Not any formal work with BIFF, no. I have been to some of the film festival things and I'm sure you're aware that the films that the kids will be working on in the summer are screened at both BIFF and the kids' film festival that they do. I think that's good. They film it there and then they also go and take it around to the schools. I think last year it was something like 1,000 kids that got to see some of the films, got to screen them and that's a really, really good thing to do. It enabled the students to see what other kids their own age can do. I think it's really inspirational for kids and so I got to see some of thas well.Q: Do the kids come up with the concept for the films themselves or are they handed a prepared script?

A: We have some scripts and then we work sort of in conjunction with the kids to develop the script but the script is pre-written. If adjustments need to be made we'll adjust. The kids are involved with the casting and the parts and the filming and the development and everything. They get a really good overview of what it's like to be in the film and theatre, acting/performance industry.

Q: When you were in Australia did you ever consider staying there and trying to make it as a professional actor?

A: I did do some acting while I was there. I did a musical, Footloose, while I was there which was really fun. It's a great place to live. And where I was, I was in Melbourne the theatre scene there is really fantastic so there definitely would have been possibilities. But for me it's a long way from home and I thought it was time to come back and see the family.

Q: When you travel to cities do you check out professional shows?

A: Of course, I love it. I love to do it. I love to watch it. It's just so much a part of me I don't think I could not see theatre, I could not be involved in theatre.

Q: Do you remember your first time on stage? Did you come away from that experience and know that acting was for you?

A: My very first role, I believe, was in a Christmas play that I did in primary school. (But I knew I loved acting) before I ever did a play. I think you just know. You know when you love it. And just about everyone in my immediate family is involved in theatre so I've been there all my life. It's never really been a question of whether to do it or not. I think it's been more just whether I was going to pursue it professionally or not.

Three stages of camps will be offered as part of the BIFF filmmaking programme this year. Stage One camps for ages seven through nine, will introduce participants to the art of filmmaking via a special effects camp July 9 through 13 and an acting camp August 27 through 31.

Stage Two camps for ages ten through 13 will provide a more hands-on approach to illustrate filmmaking with instruction in animation July 2 through 6, camera techniques August 6 through 10 and acting and directing skills, August 20 through 24.

The camps may be attended individually or in conjunction with others. Each runs from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

A Stage Three boot camp for teenagers aged 14 through 16, is to be offered July 16 through 27, during which time each student will perform all filmmaking roles and ultimately complete their own movie. The boot camp runs from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.Animation, special effects and boot camps will be taught by Jon Legere, a Bermudian who runs his own design studio and the event company, Volcanic Productions. Documentary filmmaker Lucinda Spurling will teach the camera camp.

All camps will be held at the Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation on Jubilee Road in Devonshire, at a cost of $250 per week. Application forms are available www.biff.bm.