28 QMYOU / Latest News
Coeliac event for teenagers is genius !
Short film is screened at Cannes
A
LECTURER FROM QMU has won a prestigious short film award and has had his film screened at Cannes .
Walid Salhab , Lecturer in Media Practice , has just gained a Best Short award in the prestigious ‘ Best Shorts Competition ’ based in California . His film was then premiered at the Artisan Festival International ( World Cinema Festival ) at the Festival de Cannes . In August , it will also be screened in The Hamptons , New York .
Walid ’ s film ‘ Bra-et Al Rouh ’ ( Innocence of the Spirit ) raises awareness of Palestinian refugees by using the theme of homelessness . This theme highlights the parallels between the Middle East and Western people in a way that refrains from being politicised .
Walid Salhab talks about the film : “ It ’ s a low budget film which I shot during Edinburgh ’ s International Festival , using the festival acts as a background for the story . My filmmaking is the basis for my own on going research . It allows me to explore the use of new technology in filming and editing techniques which I can then feedback into my teaching .”
The film ’ s main star is a six year old Palestinian girl and it is through her eyes that the story unfolds . The girl is drawn to help a man on the street who is deep in despair . By showing him a small act of kindness , life seems all the brighter . His life now has new hope .
Graduate Association
28 QMYOU / Latest News
Walid Salhab
Walid said : “ It ’ s amazing that a short film which cost literally nothing to make , seems to be gaining recognition world-wide . It ’ s a great success story for the University - the crew was mainly made up of QMU film graduates . Also , the music running throughout the film was gifted by singer , Marie Campbell , who continues to be a great friend to QMU .”
Walid concluded : “ It ’ s going to be a very busy summer . I anticipate that the contacts that I make at the festivals and the additional experience of the industry will bring significant benefits to future QMU film and media students .”
In a letter to Walid which confirmed his success in the Best Short Competition , Thomas Baker , the Competition ’ s Chairperson , said : “ You can be justifiably proud of winning Best Shorts honors . The judging standards are high and winning means the craft and creativity exhibited by your entry is outstanding and stands above other productions .”
QMU HOSTED a gluten free cooking day for teenagers newly diagnosed with coeliac disease .
The aim of the event , which took place in May , was to help teenagers who had recently been diagnosed with the condition . Youngsters had the opportunity to share ideas and develop practical skills in preparing gluten-free dishes to help them with day-to-day dietary compliance .
The event involved QMU ’ s nutrition and dietetics researchers , medical and dietetic clinicians from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children ( RHSC ), the charity Coeliac UK and Genius , specialist producers of gluten-free foods .
Dr Elaine Bannerman , Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at QMU , explained : “ A diagnosis of coeliac disease means significant changes have to be made to the diet . Very quickly people need to adapt what they eat to be gluten-free . This includes being able to identify gluten-free products to buy ( natural and specialist ), close scrutiny of food labels and consideration to the way food is prepared to prevent cross contamination . Learning to prepare and cook meals from scratch , which are gluten-free , gives more scope and choice within the diet . This event presented an excellent opportunity for young people to develop fundamental life skills , to access expert advice and meet peers with coeliac disease .”
Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne , Founder of Genius and a professionally-trained chef , demonstrated a number of basic glutenfree recipes which involved a range of different food preparation skills . These included tomato and cheese sauces , meatballs , fishcakes and a cake , all of which could be adapted to create different meals . Following the inspiring demonstrations , the teenagers then went on to bake their own glutenfree cake . Participants also had the chance to ask questions of the specialists from RHSC and Coeliac UK .
This event links closely with current research being carried out by Dr Elaine Bannerman and Lois White , registered nutritionist and QMU PhD student , in collaboration with Dr Peter Gillett of RHSC . The project looks at compliance with a glutenfree diet and health related quality of life of teenagers in Scotland .
DATES for your diary
Event : Undergraduate Open Days When : Thursday 6th September and Saturday
6th October 2012 Time : 11am – 3pm Where : QMU , Queen Margaret University Drive ,
Musselburgh , East Lothian , EH21 6UU
Event : Postgraduate Open Evenings When : Wednesday 28th November 2012 and
Wednesday 24th April 2013 Time : 5.30pm – 7.30pm Where : QMU , Queen Margaret University Drive ,
Musselburgh , East Lothian , EH21 6UU