College Presents 'The Kents' Film Awards

Weeks of painstaking work was on show last night in all its cinematic glory at The Kents; the annual short film festival that showcases work from our Year 12 and 13 Media Studies students. In a similar vein to the world famous ‘Oscars,’our popular homegrown awards brought together a feature of  artistic direction, filming, editing and acting talent in an entertaining evening for friends and family.

Taking to the podium, Head of Media Studies and Film, Mr Ian Thomas told the audience that media students are pretty incredible as they must combine creative ideas with practical application, and artistic flair with audience engagement; as well possess technical skills to run their own production from concept to broadcast.

‘We may not be star athletes, musicians, debaters, royals or even prefects but our media students are among some of the most talented teenagers in the country – I know this for a fact,’ he said. ‘They are resourceful, creative and savvy.’

Included in the line-up was work from our Year 12 NCEA Level 2 students, who in groups created character-centric teaser episodes or webisodes to promote and engage the audience for the eventual launch of a television mystery drama. This year the drama was titled ‘Dare, Truth or Promise’ and the four nominated entries certainly hooked and intrigued the audience with their differing narratives!

At Level 3, the Year 13 students were tasked with a ‘48 hour film-style’challenge where every second counted. Armed with a genre, a character, a prop and a line of dialogue, the students had to meet the demands of the brief in order to make their short films. All creativity, writing, shooting, editing and adding a musical soundtrack had to be completed within the 48 hour ‘mayhem’ period!

On the judging panel, the College was pleased to welcome back Old Collegians and previous Media Studies students, Jason Hoon, Cameron McColl, Ben Elias, Tallulah Watson and Calvin Sang. These former students have all had their own personal involvement with The Kents in earlier years.

Amongst the award winners was the Judges’ Choice for Year 12, the gritty and boundary pushing webisode ‘Casey the Athlete’ which posed that we’ll often do anything to impress people, but questioned that surely there’s a limit. In the Year 13 category, the award went to the edgy noir ‘whodunnit’ film ‘Fall of Grace’ that followed the story of a murder victim washing up in Silo Park and the jaded detective who solved the crime.

In the audience-voted People’s Choice award, the Year 13 tongue-in-cheek film, ‘How to Survive Your Teenage Years’ gave Nigel Latta a run for his money with this plucky guide which presented some hard truths and easy to follow steps for today’s modern teen.

Judging by the amount of laughter erupting from the crowd, the evening was once again a very enjoyable success in celebration of our up-and-coming Peter Jacksons!

Congratulations to the following award winners:

Best Script: ‘Fall of Grace’ (Libby Osborne, Jake Latham, Katie Edwards)

Best Cinematography: Libby Osborne

Best Sound: Thomas Henderson

Best Editing: Jackson Calder

Best Music: Katie Edwards

Best Actress: Emma Watson

Best Actor: Jackson Calder