Project Paradiso is a not-for-profit, crowd-funded filmmaking project from Young Film Academy (YFA), offering a select group of YFA’s most promising students the chance to create a stunning short film in a cinematic location in Sicily, Italy, in February 2025.
In 2023, I participated in the Young Film Academy's 4-Day Film School, wherein myself and my amazing collaborators won "Best Film" at their awards ceremony that August. It was a dream to work in such a professional yet welcoming environment, and since that point I have worked tirelessly to hone my craft as a screenwriter-director to prepare for the world of professional filmmaking. Film is my life, and to pursue what I love in my education, and further into a career, is the greatest joy.
Project Paradiso provides a platform for young, talented and determined students to push themselves beyond what they thought they could achieve, creating something truly remarkable. Every student as part of the project takes an active role in fundraising in order to produce the best film possible, and it is a great honour to be able to work towards a common goal with other ambitious filmmakers.
In this project, I will be a screenwriter for a short film that will later be submitted into film festivals around the world, and as screenwriting opportunities for young people can be so scarce these days, the YFA have provided a lifechanging opportunity for people like me who so desperately want to show the world what they can do. With the money raised, we can put our best foot forward and create something meaningful for people to enjoy, and enrich a new generation of filmmakers.
Even by giving just £1, you make a contribution to something that can be incredible, and every donation means the world to us all.
Thank you, and much love,
Max McNamara
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