31 October 2008

Lights! Camera! And… Shoes?

It's not yet a case of "move over Tropfest", but now in its sixth year, the MyState Financial Student Film Festival has again attracted a record number of entries from around the State, with over 120 films entered, and 30% more schools participating. With the central theme of "Shoes" it was apparent that aspiring young film-makers, as well as the judges definitely got a kick out of this year’s festival.

The aim of the festival, which judges short films in four age categories, gives students the chance to learn more about and showcase their skills and creativity in visual arts, direction, script-writing, and managing a project from start to finish. Not to mention acting and the all-important wardrobe department. As usual the judges had a serious job on their hands and congratulated all participants on the standard of films submitted, and said they were impressed by the exceptional talent seen from young Tasmanian film-makers.

MyState Financial Award Winner

A total of seven awards were presented. The winners from each of the four age categories took away $1000 for their school or as individuals. The overall winner of the MyState Financial Award, chosen from the four category winners, was Costa Blanca by university students Angus Ashton, Alistair Deane and Scott Laird. They received $3000 from MyState Financial Chief Executive, Chris Brooks. The film follows the travels of a mysterious Spanish shoe which is sought after by a group of criminals, and which eventually washes up on a man’s private beach. The team said that the film itself attempts to show how a simple object such as a shoe can be adapted into a completely different context than the one with which it is associated every day.

MyState Financial Chief Executive Chris Brooks said he couldn’t help but feel that every year the students got more inventive with interpretation of the theme, and that this year the quality of the films was outstanding. "We knew that this year’s theme 'Shoes' would inspire some creative thinking and deliver some very interesting films - this was evident just by their titles which included "Men in Shoes", "When Shoes take over the World", "Horror Shoe-vie" and then of course, there was "Emo Shoe!"

A wide range of genres were employed across all films - comedy, action, drama, mystery, romance and tragedy. The films produced this year were described by the judging panel as the finest ever produced in the six years of the Student Film Festival.

Premier's Award

The Hon. David Bartlett, Premier of Tasmania, who is a major supporter of the Festival had the pleasure of this year judging the Premier's Award, which was won by Ogilvie High School for their film Quest for an Inner Sole. The film illustrates human obsession with technology and how much it dictates our lives. The film seeks to show the importance of simple things in life such as dancing and shows how people can be brought together through the power of dance. The prize was a DV Creator Kit worth $2000.

MyState Financial Staff Award

A panel of staff from MyState Financial also judged their own prize winner. Richard Metcalf, Group Manager of Business Systems Strategy was very pleased to present Devonport High School with $500 for their entry, In the Steps of A Dog Walker by Taylor Beaumont Whiteley and Joel Mahoney. The film is a comedic mocumentary about a young man’s quest to live out his late father's dream of being a successful dog walker.

Bruny Island black tie celebrations

Students and teachers from Bruny Island District School were absolutely head over heels when they found they had won the Kindergarten to Year 6 category with their film On the Run. After the show they were heading straight back to Bruny where plans have been in place for a while to hold a big community premiere. Not only is it a red carpet, black tie fundraiser, but it will be the first time that many of the students (apart from those attending the presentation) have seen the film in full. And, as the whole community were involved in the making of On the Run, it will be even more exciting for them to watch, knowing that it has already scooped a $1000 prize.

The judges

A panel of 17 judges, with a range of backgrounds - film directors, screen writers, movie critics, actors, voice over artists, visual arts teachers, casting agents, etc – whittled the original 120 films into the list of 12 finalists. Professor Jonathan Dawson (film director, screen writer and movie critic) and international film director Richard Marks made the final choice of a winner in each of the four categories. Professor Jonathan Dawson summed up the 2008 festival saying "my fellow judge, Dick Marks and I were incredibly enthusiastic about this year's huge roll up of entries – and these films are a step above the many films we have judged over the years – the quality of the films were outstanding and a lot of work and effort has gone into creating these films. Also exciting were the clear signs that there are some very good young film makers indeed. Some of the films look as professional as you could possibly hope for!"

To see the list of finalists and the winning films [ click here ].