POMFRET — A ninth grader at Rectory School took first place in the second Annual Envision Kindness Student Film Contest for his film “Color Your World with Kindness.”

Jeffrey Wang, 16, of Beijing, China, described his film this way:  

“Have you ever wondered what it would be like if our world were colorless? In this world, people are bullying, and being rude to each other. However, once one person starts to help another, the world around them gradually turns into color. Spreading the message to color your world with kindness.”

You can see his film at:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxPYkOf0sck

Envision Kindness, the Connecticut non-profit dedicated to inspiring, encouraging and spreading kindness, challenged college, high school and middle school students from across the state of Connecticut to conceive and produce original, light hearted, short films using kindness as the central theme. 

A total of 40 films were received, reflecting the contributions of hundreds of students. These films were viewed over 43,000 times and more than 8,500 votes were cast by the public to select contest finalists.

“Congratulations to the contest winners for their inspiring work. Their expressions of what kindness means to them are critical to strengthening empathy and compassion and inspiring acts of kindness, which are so needed in society today,” said David Fryburg, M.D., president and co-founder, Envision Kindness.

Research has shown that exposure to positive, kind acts and kindness-centric content makes people more likely to be less stressed, healthier and happier. It can also make people feel more connected, optimistic and give them a more accurate and well-rounded view of the world.

“I was beyond excited to have my Media Communications class participate in this year’s student film contest. I found that there was a big effect of my students, where they were going out of their way to produce simple acts of kindness,” said Ryan T. Finnegan, English Department & Related Arts, Upper DGB Dorm Parent, The Rectory School.

A prize of $500 will be awarded to The Rectory School.