22 October 2021

A short film has been produced by Brent Council to inspire young people and adults to have more self-belief.

The film called Level-Up centres around a young boy called Malachi who goes on a journey through a video game. At each level he has to complete a challenge that will test him. Through the game he realises it is determination and inner belief which leads to success.

There are many stand out moments in the film, one is when Malachi is feeling down as he is not able to fly a plane. A pilot is next to him trying to give support but in a disquiet way Malachi says “That’s easy for you to say, you’re a pilot, you’ve got pilot skills”. The pilot then turns to Malachi to tell him “Well there was a time when I didn’t know how to do it, you just have to try.” When Malachi finally flies the plane, the pilot tells him it wasn’t his skill that enabled a successful flight but the decision he made to not give up.

At each level Malachi is joined by guides that help him through every challenge, all of which are local Brent Heroes. He’s joined by a chemist played by Kayisha Payne, a chemical scientist who helped produce the Covid-19 vaccine, as well as Rasheed Graham, who is an airline pilot. 

Louisa Housen, who produced the film said “The guides in the film are all incredible in their own right and yet growing up they didn’t have lots of resources and weren’t necessarily naturally gifted in their current professions. But through perseverance and understanding how to utilise the right mindset (and lots of hard work of course), they’re achieving great things and anybody can do the same.”

Louisa Housen works in Brent Council’s Public Health and Community wellbeing Team and talked about why she was inspired to create this film:

“Last year when George Floyd was killed coupled with the inequalities unveiled by the pandemic the climate of the globe felt so unjust even cruel at times. Personally, it was the first time I had to confront the topic of racism with my son and it was beyond difficult and hurtful to have this discussion.”

“My response was to create a film which would make children especially, feel good about themselves and yet also validate their feelings and remind them that we all face challenges but yet we grow as a result of what we go through.”

You can watch the film below. Now, there’s only one thing left to say… Are you ready to Level Up and unleash the power within?