2018 High School Winners

Victor Elgersma is in grade 12 at the European School of Brussels IV in Brussels, Belgium and has been making films since he was 10 years old. Victor chose Feeding 10 Billion as the topic of his video because he knew the least about global food issues when he started. He says he “learns the most from this kind of experience” – conducting independent, in-depth research and synthesizing that research into a presentable product. Through his research into the topic, Victor became fascinated by the modern disconnect between most people and the food that we eat, and sees indoor farming and hydroponics as a way to reestablish that connection.

This is Victor’s second time participating in the World of 7 Billion contest, having two videos as winners (2^nd Place and Honorable Mention) in the 2015-2016 contest. He shared that he particularly loves the World of 7 Billion contest because it’s a great chance to combine his interest in global issues and politics with his filmmaking. For Victor, the most challenging part of his video, and making films in general, is writing the script and admits that it may take months for him to work through the “knots, blocks, re-dos, 3^rd and 4^th drafts” before he’s happy with the product. His advice for future participants is to keep your research and writing separate at first, deeply studying your video’s topic and deciding what to include and what not to include before creating your script.

Victor speaks English, French, Dutch and Bulgarian fluently! Next year he is excited to attend a four-year program at Oxford University to study physics, one of his many passions and interests. Victor admits that he is not sure what he wants to do yet in life, and in the meantime is “trying to do as much as he can and seeing where it takes him.” He hopes that his younger sister, who helped him produce this winning video, participates in the World of 7 Billion contest in the future.