Watch NZH Local Focus: Kiwi kids tackle silent film

In the Bay of Plenty - it's lights, camera, action.

This week, the curtain came up on the second International Youth Silent Film Festival, held at Baycourt.

"It was an opportunity to take silent movies, the Wurlitzer, and youth - and bring them all together for a sort of historic introduction into the world of making films," says Baycourt Manager Megan Peacock-Coyle.

A group of school children aged 18 and under, from around the region are hard at work, producing a silent film.

Their films will be screened at Baycourt, accompanied musically by the centre's 100-year-old Wurlitzer piano.

"Because we have a Wurlitzer, we have silent movie screenings every year, where everyone dresses up in 1920s garb. This year we have a circus theme.

"We've started establishing the Bay of Plenty as the silent film capital of New Zealand."

Filmmaker Anton Steele is tutoring the group, and is passionate about introducing young New Zealanders to film.

"We'd really love to create a platform for the youth of today, to see that they could be working in the screen media industry here in the Bay. They could leave school and be working here, rather than having to go away to Auckland or Wellington. So we see developing the capacity of youth as an integral part of that."

The workshops are being held across the school holidays, the end goal being a 3-minute science fiction silent film that will be entered into the regional finals.

From there, the winning New Zealand films are entered into the international finals, held in Portland, in the United States.

Local talent agent Tanya Horo, says the students' passion for the arts was plain to see.

"You're taking an imaginary circumstance and making it real. I think that is an amazing thing to do, I think stories are always going to be important - and I believe storytellers are always going to be important."

The regional finals will be held at Baycourt on November 22.

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