Young filmmakers show vision
ON AUGUST 29, UPCOMING mini-Spielberg Amber Grant, 12, took out the 3 Minute Youth prize with her short film Bella the Super Dog. The film illustrates how Bella keeps her family full of zip by encouraging them to be outside. It’s Amber’s second film prize after she took out the under-18s category in the Noosa Ecoflicks film competition in June.
“It’s a delightful film,” says Donna Little, CEO of the Queensland Outdoor Recreation Foundation and judge of Bella the Super Dog. “It’s light-hearted and showcases the environment. It really shows the family’s love for the outdoors.”
Former ABC videographer, co-judge and author of The Second Best Job in the World: The Extraordinary Adventures of an ABC Cameraman, Julian Mather, also felt that Amber’s work was a heart-touching piece.
“It’s a film with a definite narrative. It’s a story with a lovable character, it’s funny, it’s got a great message, it’s unique and full of energy and enthusiasm,” says Julian.
Young filmmakers making the connection
Taking out the 3-Minute Open winner prize was Roy Devine’s film Connect, which outlines the youth engagement program run by the Scripture Union Queensland. The film highlights the rewards of the physical challenges young people face during the Connect program, which features abseiling, ropes courses, and hiking.
Winning the SEQ Catchments Mobile Minute prize, Ugo Capozzoli demonstrated the new training techniques he and his friends use for slacklining, which is akin to tightrope walking using a slakened rope. Ugo filmed Kangaroo Point Spaceline entirely on his iPhone, capturing the split-second thrills and difficultly of the new genre of acrobatics.
“I thought the winner… was a delightful and concise sharing of an experience, and Ugo clearly has the ability to tell a visual story with minimal sync sound,” says Dr Debra Beattie, a co-judge of the competition, and a senior film lecturer at Griffith University.
Visioning the Outdoors is a Queensland Outdoor and Recreation Federation (QORF) supported program that seeks to inspire outdoor recreationists to capture and share their adventures. Maria Auditore, Reigan Griffiths, Karen Kempster and Karly Radford of 5th Townsville Girl Guides, supported by their leader Frances Chatterton subsequently won the 2012 People’s Choice Award in late October.
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