Congratulations to the IYSFF NZ Nationals 2018 Top 12

Congratulations to the IYSFF NZ Nationals 2018 Top 12 Filmmakers

The International Youth Silent Film Festival (IYSFF) is proud to announce the Top 12 Kiwi filmmakers who will be celebrated at the 2018 New Zealand National Awards at Baycourt Community & Arts Centre in Tauranga on October 17.
The IYSFF is an international competition which challenges filmmakers, aged 20 and under, to create a three-minute silent film set to one of 10 musical scores composed especially for the festival.

This year 35 entries which met the IYSFF’s strict criteria of rules were accepted for judging and following robust discussions by a panel of jurors in late September, the Top 12 silent films have now been selected:

• ATTACK! of the DEATH ROBOT (Hero) – Matthew Tribble, Joseph Hisayasu, Kais Azimullah, Harry Ashley (Lynfield College, Auckland)
• Between Frames (Romance) – Sarah Kolver, Joshua Kibblewhite (The University of Auckland, Auckland)
• Case Thief (Mystery) – Sophie Webster (Tauranga Girls College, Tauranga)
• Family Jewels (Hero) – Ruben Connolly, Ben Saunders, Mason Williams, Liam Fitzpatrick (Otumoetai College, Tauranga)
• Overexposed (Noir) – Harry Ashley, Raymond Feng, Shamir Sarif (Lynfield College, Auckland)
• Princess Castle (Motown) – Samuel Chitty (Mahurangi College, Warkworth)
• Random Act of Kindness (Motown) – Benaiah Dunn, Conner Lindsay, Mitchell Hay, Callum Scott, Thomas Dunn, Ben Amende, Jonah Smith, Nathan Pedrigal, Michael Wade (Taieri College, Middlemarch)
• The Essential Organ (Western) – Luke Jackson, James French (Wellington)
• The Key to Success (Slapstick) – Ysabella Stevenson, Naia Doak, Alesha McFarlane (Mahurangi College, Warkworth)
• The Main Suspect (Noir) – Liam Bennet (Christchurch)
• The Terrorist Who Tripped (Slapstick) - Tremaine Leaso, Abigail Blackie, Rose MacClure, Kunal Vallabh, Daniel Brown, Tainas Pere (Lynfield College Auckland)
• The Tipping Point (Sci-fi) – Sophia Kwon, Christina Pan (Carmel College, Auckland)

It is also with great excitement for the IYSFF NZ team to announce this year’s Celebrity Judges are actor and director David de Lautour (Westside, The Kick, Being Eve) and Bay of Plenty Film CEO and director Anton Steel.

Making the 2018 NZ National Awards Final even more special, IYSFF founder Jon ‘JP’ Palanuk will be travelling all the way from Portland, Oregon, USA, to attend the red-carpet awards ceremony.

All of the Top 12 films will be screened at the finals and each will feature live musical accompaniment from IYSFF composer Nathan Avakian who is also travelling from the United States especially for the ceremony and will perform on Baycourt’s mighty Wurlitzer Organ.

This year the Top 12 finalists are all competing for a total cash prize pool of $6750 across 10 category awards, which includes $2000 for the first place winner, $1500 for second place, $1000 for third place, and a $750 Highly Commended prize.

Also up for grabs are $250 prizes across five ‘Best of’ category awards: Best Director, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Editing, and Best Shot.

And on top of this – the Top Three films selected by this year’s Celebrity Judges will go on to represent Aotearoa/New Zealand at the IYSFF Global Awards 2019 to be held in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Earlier this year Otago brothers Benaiah and Thomas Dunn became the first Kiwi filmmakers to take higher honour in the international competition after their silent film The Chase won second place and a cash prize of USD $1500 at the IYSFF Global Awards 2018 held in June.

The international recognition capped off a winning run for the Middlemarch brothers after The Chase won second overall at last year’s IYSFF NZ National Awards Final, as well as three ‘Best Of’ category awards for Cinematography, Production Design, and Shot, and a total of $2250 in cash prizes.

The International Youth Silent Film Festival New Zealand Nationals 2018 is proudly presented by Baycourt Community & Arts Centre in association with Bay of Plenty Film and The Breeze Tauranga.

The IYSFF NZ National Awards Final is on at Baycourt Community & Arts Centre Addison Theatre in Tauranga on Wednesday 17 October, 7:30pm.

Tickets cost Adult $18.00, Child (14 & Under) $10.00, Student (with ID) & Groups (6+) $15.00, and are available from the Baycourt Box Office or online from www.ticketek.co.nz

—ENDS—

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