A THOUGHT-provoking film which asks young people to consider the reality of living with dementia was premiered at a York school last night.

Starring students from Joseph Rowntree School, community members and some residents with dementia from Hartrigg Oaks, Tuning In To Dementia, aims to increase dementia awareness and build better understanding of the condition from an early age.

Over the next year it will be shown to 2,000 York secondary school pupils in personal, social and health education lessons and could then be rolled out nationally alongside a lesson plan.

The film by Inspired Youth – a not-for-profit digital-production enterprise based at York St John University – invites young people to imagine what life would be like with dementia.

In York, the numbers of people with dementia are expected to rise from 10,851 in 2007 by nearly 47 per cent to 15,951 in 2021.

Jayne Gledhill, who is behind the project, said: “My hopes for the film is that it truly does help to give people an understanding of dementia – particularly the younger people as due to our ageing population dementia will have such an impact on their lives.

“When you think there are approximately 9,000 people living in Haxby, the figure of 15,951 feels very real.

“This does not have to be York’s secret, there is no reason why we can not help other communities with the information we have gained.”

Mrs Gledhill wanted to make a film from a young person’s persepective after she met two people living with dementia at a workshop in York.

City of York Council is working with partners including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and Science City York (SCY) towards making York a “dementia-friendly city” and investigating a range of initiatives that will raise awareness, educate and support residents, businesses, communities and services to find solutions to the problems it raises.

To watch the film, visit geniusyork.com