Press release from Tsuki
Last Friday night at the MyState BOFA Devil Awards, winners were announced for the Digital SLR Short Film Competition at a star studded affair judged by visiting industry professionals, Rowan Woods, Gregor Jordan and Bradley Patrick. BOFA was also proud to announce the launch of a new competition from Tourism Tasmania valued at $20,000. The MyState Student Film Festival winner was also recognised amongst the presence of professionals, emerging talent and the Launceston community.
MyState BOFA Film Festival Artistic Director Bradley Patrick said contestants, finalists, celebrities and film lovers feasted on Tasmania’s abundance of fresh produce, and sipped on fine wine while watching the award winning films on a 10m by 10m outdoor screen.
The winners of the MyState BOFA Digital SLR Short Film Competition for 2011 are:
Best Tasmanian Short Film: Peekaboo, Dir. Damien Power, Australia, 10 min. Peekaboo investigates the overwhelming fear and loss of rationality of a mother fearing the worst for her child, after she goes missing in a car park on the way home from the Easter Show.
Best International Short Film: Sharfik, Dir. Karina Gazizova, USA, 14 min. Sharfik is about a family living during the period of World War II. As an unbearable siege threatens to suck the last drop of life out of this once warm and loving family, the film explores how war changes the people we need the most.
Best Youth Short Film: Abbie, Dir. Erin Good, Australia, 8 min. Abbie explores a dystopian corporate world where the idealistic Abbie embarks on the first day of her new job with nervous delight, only to be disheartened by the cold intolerance of The Boss and a failed attempt to make friends.
Short films (encompassing drama, documentary, humour, and sci-fi and under 12 minutes in length) were chosen for the festival because they reflected the festival’s fresh approach to filmmaking and contemporary issues and incorporate one of BOFA’s key themes ‘New Horizons’ or ‘Food for Thought’.
“All of the finalists provided short films of a high calibre and showed great creativity. The films that we judged the winners were subjective choices; they were the films that challenged our understanding of the world as we know it through an original, fresh perspective,” said Rowan Woods.
MyState BOFA was also proud to announce that Tourism Tasmania has partnered with MyState BOFA Film Festival to run a competition aiming to create an innovative series of short films. The competition which will call for entries of films under three minutes with the theme ‘I love Tasmania’ will be used by Tourism Tasmania in consumer communications including social media.
Carrying a prize value of $20,000, the competition which aims to capture the essence of Tasmania will offer the biggest dollar value ever given for a film prize in the history of screen culture in Tasmania.
The Awards Dinner also recognised the winner of the MyState Student Film Festival, Daniel James from Rosny College who won the MyState Award for his short film ‘The Silence of Whitewater’.
The ticketed evening raised money for the Save the Tasmanian Devil Appeal. Highlighting the plight of the Tasmanian Devil, the actual award was in the form of a glass blown Tasmanian Devil trophy (designed by Tasmanian Glass Blowers, artist James Dodson).
The MyState BOFA Film Festival is a celebration of fresh perspectives and innovative approaches to screen-based story telling that inspire positive change.