Filmmaker Choy Aming will screen his award-winning documentary, ‘My Backyard’, twice on Friday, May 4 in the Tradewinds Auditorium at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.

The 31-minute film, which won a Special Mention from the short film jury at the last month’s Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF), will screen at 6.30 p.m. and 8 p.m. A half-hour question and answer session with the filmmaker will follow each screening.

Advance tickets ($15) are now on sale at the Bermuda Bookstore on Queen Street in Hamilton and at Music World in the Bermudiana Arcade. Tickets will also be available at the door. Mr. Aming, a biologist, spent a year shooting the film, which explores the diversity of Bermuda’s marine life. The cast includes unusual reef creatures such as the inch-long flamingo tongue; an old Navy tower, humpback whales and tiger sharks. The film also carries a strong environmental message.

“If we as a society continue consuming and polluting at the rate we do now, we will continue to endanger our precious marine species,” Mr. Aming said. “My film shows the beauty of the marine life which lives just off Bermuda and, if we want to preserve that marine life for future generations to observe and enjoy, then we simply need to adjust our lifestyles.”

Mr. Aming, a first-time filmmaker, was praised by the short film jury at BIFF for incorporating a strong environmental message into his film.

“Choy could have made a very beautiful film about fish, but he chose to communicate an environmental message, asking what we are doing to the ocean and its inhabitants. The message is very important,” juror Ben Newmark said.

Fellow juror Vito Rocco concurred. “It is clear that Choy is a passionate filmmaker. For a first film, it was a lot of fun and very educational. We hope he goes on to make more films,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Aming is making the rounds of various schools showing ‘My Backyard’ to students, and he is delighted with the reception it is receiving.

At the Bermuda High School for Girls, for example, primary students sat transfixed as the film unfolded. “I got fantastic feedback from them,” Mr. Aming said. “They had loads of questions, and were really enthusiastic. In fact, the teacher said it was one of the rare times she had seen the students sit so still and quiet.”

As an environmentalist, Mr. Ming feels it is important to raise the awareness of young Bermudians, who will be its future custodians.

“A lot of them have not had an opportunity to see the waters around the Island, and as the future generation they are going to have a huge say in what happens to Bermuda environmentally,” he said. “We are at a bit of a crossroads right now, so I am anxious for as many people as possible to see the film.”

DVDs of ‘My Backyard’ are expected to be available sometime next month. For further information phone Mr. Aming at 735-7873.

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