Unitec hosts Shanghai students for busy V48HOURS weekend

18 May, 2012

Unitec hosts Shanghai students for busy V48HOURS weekend

The V48HOURS Furious Filmmaking Competition will have an international flavour among the participants this weekend with Auckland's Unitec hosting a delegation of 10 students and 2 teachers from the prestigious Shanghai Theatre Academy for the competition. Unitec is once again supporting V48HOURS as a Silver Sponsor and through mass participation by its past and current students and staff.

The Shanghai group arrived on Tuesday and has spent the past week getting up to speed with filmmaking techniques at Unitec's Department of Performing and Screen Arts in Mt Albert to ready them for a busy weekend.

This is the second year that the Shanghai Theatre Academy has sent a delegation to take part in V48HOURS competition after first sending a delegation last year as part of Unitec's ongoing commitment to developing relationship partners in Asia, particularly in the growing creative industries of filmmaking and dance.

As part of our sponsorship of V48HOURS, Unitec is offering a Study Award for a lucky applicant registered for V48HOURs to receive a one year tuition in the Graduate Diploma in Creative Practise majoring in either directing, screenwriting or art direction. Unitec is also offering filmmaking workshops to V48HOURs participants during July/August.

This year's event takes place from Friday, 18 May - Sunday 20 May around New Zealand. The Auckland regional event will be launched this tonight at the Aotea Centre with team representatives assembling to receive instructions from the competition organisers. The winners will be announced at the Grand Final on June 30.

A number of current Unitec students and screen arts staff, plus film and television graduates are taking part this year. Some have been assigned to the Shanghai students as advisors to help them navigate themselves around Auckland locations over the weekend.

One grad, Alan Parr, who was last year's V48HOURS Study Award winner, is again taking part with his team Idiotvision alongside fellow Unitec grad, now staff member at the Unitec Pacific Centre, Venusi Taumoepeau. Parr is now a 0.5 tutor in Screen Arts and says the Study Award has allowed him to return to the institution which awarded him his degree in directing back in 2008.

Parr is already a well known face in V48HOURS circles. Team Idiotvision was the national runners up in last year's V48HOURS competition, and twice the team has been a Wild Card selection by Oscar winning director, Peter Jackson.

ENDS

© Scoop Media