A group of budding filmmakers from Maroochydore State High School have won the 2016 QUT Student Film Competition, taking home more than $10,000 in cash and prizes.
The students were among 15 teams that entered the competition and were declared winners after screening their film ‘Shifting Sands,’ at a swanky red carpet event at QUT’s Caboolture campus.
‘Shifting Sands’ centres around a conflicted teenage girl living in a post-apocalyptic world, deciding whether to stay in the present with her partner or travel back in time to reunite with her family.
Maroochydore State High School Film TV & New Media teacher Mr Alistair Hume mentored the winning team, one of two teams entered, and said while he knew the students had produced something special, he was wary of the competition.
“I knew of the quality of the films that would be screened on Friday night from the enthusiasm students showed at the workshops a couple of weeks ago. It’s a tough competition, and I was really hoping that we would gain a place,” Mr Hume said
“Being announced the winners was a great reward for the beautiful cinematography and editing of this piece. Two weeks is an incredibly short time to produce a film of this quality from scratch, and all the teams who participated have been through the same, and should be congratulated for their hard work. I am immensely proud of my students. ”
The competition saw students attend a full day of workshops run by leading experts from QUT’s Creative Industries Faculty before being challenged to produce a short film about ‘time’ in just 14 days.
Academic Coordinator for Creative Industries at QUT Caboolture campus Kenneth Lyons said the students were very worthy winners and hinted there could be bigger and better things awaiting the Maroochydore students.
“Their film was technically stunning and we were utterly engaged and hypnotised by the beauty of this piece,” he said
“Thematically it was a very strong and complex piece of work, it made the most of some beautiful environments and it also did what all good art should do - ask questions.”
“As a judging panel, we see a very bright future for these students and would love to see them measure themselves against the best young filmmakers across Australian and New Zealand at the 2016 SAE ATOM Awards.”
To learn more about Creative Industries at QUT or to view the films produced at this year’s competition, visit qut.edu.au/Caboolture
1ST PLACE: Maroochydore State High School
$3000 to the winning school, $250 cash to each student, $1000 scholarship to each student
2ND PLACE: Grace Lutheran College Rothwell
$100 cash to each student, $1000 scholarship to each student
3RD PLACE: Bribie Island State High School
$50 cash to each student, $1000 scholarship to each student
For all media enquiries, including access to the films and interviews with the wining students, please contact Campus Marketing Consultant Emma Sutherland at ec.sutherland@qut.edu.au or 07 5316 7574
