[press release from Panasonic Australia]
Australia’s best young filmmakers were recognised at the annual Kid Witness News (KWN) New Vision Awards held on the Gold Coast last week.
The New Vision Awards marks the conclusion of the 2008 KWN short film competition, which saw students from 75 primary and secondary schools across the country shoot, direct and star in their own five minute video. The awards ceremony was hosted by TV personality, Toni Pearen.
Major winners on the night included Mooloolaba State School from Queensland and Christies Beach High School from South Australia.
Mooloolaba State School won the Regional, National Primary School and the Queensland Primary School awards for its short film on the environment titled ‘Planet Earth’. Their film discusses the rate at which the world is using energy and how we can make a difference before time runs out. The students were also recognised for their technical excellence, taking home three National Spotlight Awards in the Writing, Videography and Editing categories.
As the Regional Award winner, Mooloolaba State School will represent Australia at the Asia Pacific KWN Regional Awards which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand. Two students and one teacher will be invited to attend the gala event, scheduled to take place from the 2nd to the 5th December 2008.
Christies Beach High School was awarded the National Secondary School Award and South Australia Secondary School Award for the film ‘My Turn Now!’, a short documentary that explores how disabled students at the school benefit, both physically and emotionally, by playing an interactive video sports game.
Toni Pearen, KWN Ambassador and competition judge, said she was very impressed with the quality of this year’s video entries.
“The winning schools produced outstanding entries which explored important and thought-provoking topics. This year’s KWN entries were of an excellent standard and it was clear that all the students put a lot of time and creative effort into their films,” Toni said.
Panasonic Managing Director, Steve Rust said, “The Kid Witness News program encourages students to work together and develop their creative skills. All the students involved in the program should be proud of their achievements and I am looking forward to seeing what they produce next year.”
The KWN program challenges students to work together to develop a five minute video, involving all aspects of film-making including determining the subject matter, script writing, and filming and editing footage using equipment provided by Panasonic.
Entry categories include: drama, documentary, health, science and technology, news and current affairs, public service announcement, comedy, sport, art, music, animation, and entertainment.
The films were judged by a panel including industry experts Toni Pearen, Camille Hardman, Jane St. Vincent Welch, Paul Fishlock, Jack McCoy and Steve Rust who critiqued the films, looking at the quality of script writing, sound, videography, special effects and editing.
For a full list of 2008 KWN winners, please visit http://panasonic.com.au/kwn/winners_2008.cfm