Just as the temperatures began to dip into the winter range, Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood played host to a week of outdoor filming in late November. The film is an independent short entitled Ana's Playground, and it was written and directed local filmmaker Eric D. Howells.
Film Raises Public Awareness of Children at War
Ana's Playground is set in a non-specific war torn country, and is meant too raise public awareness regarding children's proximity to and involvement in war worldwide. Howells cites a stunning statistic: more than 2,000 children are killed or injured in war every day, and more than 300,000 are in active combat.
The basic plot of the short film involves a group of children listening to a soccer game on the radio while playing the game themselves. When their ball accidentally goes flying beyond a barrier into a sniper zone, young Ana is the unlucky child chosen to fetch it, with "a dangerous game of cat & mouse" ensuing.
Soccer Plays Role in Film and Rehabilitation
Howells sums up the theme: "When a child has to choose idealogy over humanity." A secondary theme in Ana's Playground is that of soccer, used as both a connection between the main characters and as a symbolic "uniting force" between peoples. Soccer is also a major tool used in the rehabilitation of child soldiers, helping them to work through their aggression.
Cedar Riverside's Role in Ana's Playground
The director chose Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood for its "mammoth soaring apartment architecture" and the ominous "Hitchcock towers" that are both ambiguous and lend a feel of an Eastern European war zone. One of the interesting aspects of filming in Cedar-Riverside is that it is a neighborhood full of immigrants, particularly Somali's, who themselves came here to escape war. Many of them grew up in the same conditions that Howells is focusing on.
Mounds View, Minnesota native Eric Howells has been involved in filmmaking since the age of 10, when he started making his own animated shorts. He has since been involved in all aspects of the business, from camera operator to location scout, to producer, director and even stuntman. Howells has worked on numerous studio and indie films, including Fargo, Untamed Heart, A Simple Plan, Joe Somebody and North Country.
Eric Howells award-winning film The Interview was the first ever motion picture to be shot on film and debuted on the internet; it marked the beginning of his producing and directing experience. For Ana's Playground he used all local talent, mostly child actors, some as young as seven.
Proceeds Will Directly Benefit Children in Armed Conflict
Donations from a wide variety of local businesses helped make filming possible, and Howells plans to donate all proceeds the movie earns to non-governmental organizations that aid in the disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation of child soldiers.
Post-production on Ana's Playground will be done in January and the film will be released in May or June, 2009. Please visit the Ana's Playground website to learn more about children in armed conflict, how you can help, or to read updates on the film's progress.
Dale Van Every - Dale Van Every is a freelance and fiction writer living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He earned his Masters Degree in English Literature from ...
Join the Conversation