The top 15 films that reached the finals of the International Youth Silent Film Festival National Awards will be screened today at the Illuminarti Festival

'We will be showing them from 2 – 3pm,” says IYSFF NZ project coordinator Jannine Spiers from Black Arrow Art.

Traditionally, the finalist films of the Aotearoa competition are screened at the Awards Final which is held at Baycourt Community & Arts Centre – where the competition debuted in New Zealand back in 2016 – with the soundtrack for each film performed live on Baycourt's mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ.

However, due to the impacts created by the Covid outbreak, the IYSFF NZ organisers made the difficult decision to switch to a streamed version of the National Awards Final 2020

The 15 finalist films and the awards show were made available to view via the Baycourt Community & Arts Centre's Facebook page and will be screened today at the Tauranga Historic Village Cinema as part of the Illumarti Festival.

The festival runs all day from 10am - 4pm, with the Village Cinema showcasing Scott Brown at 12pm, followed by the Tauranga Girls' College Cinematic Expression at 1pm. At 2pm, the International Youth Silent Film Festival finalists will be screened, and The Grand Bazaar will perform from 3-4pm. Around the rest of the village are many other artists and performers.

Jannine, who has over 25 years' experience in the film industry, is passionate about supporting grass roots filmmaking, connecting community, and providing a platform for filmmakers in the way of film festivals.

The Illuminarti Festival at Tauranga Historic Village today provides an ideal opportunity for Jannine to bring film to the forefront of the growing arts culture in Tauranga.

Two young Auckland filmmakers' excellent technical skills and brilliant use of storytelling has seen them win the top award for the International Youth Silent Film Festival (IYSFF) New Zealand National 2020 competition.

Sci-fi themed silent film ‘Lost In Time' by Carmel College's Sophia Kwon, 18, and Lynfield College's Daniel Wardadi, 17, was announced the overall winner of this year's competition.

Along with winning first place and the cash prize of $1500, Sophia Kwon also picked up the award for Best Editing for her work on ‘Lost In Time'.

'Chasing Shadows'

Coming in at second and collecting a cash prize of $1000 was Tauranga Girls' College filmmaker Tearani Wikohika for her sci-fi film ‘Chasing Shadows', which also took home the award for Best Cinematography, while the film's lead actor Venice Harris, 14, picked up the award for Best Actor.

O, Snap!

Rounding out this year's Top Three was the noir-themed film ‘O, Snap!' by Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington student Samuel Chitty, 18, who on top of his $500 cash prize also won the award for Best Director.

Along with their accolades and cash prizes, the Top Two films ‘Lost In Time' and ‘Chasing Shadows' will now automatically represent Aotearoa at the IYSFF Global Awards Final which will be held at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Oregon, US, in June 2021.

The IYSFF competition challenges filmmakers, aged 20 years and under, from the United States, Europe, Australia, The United Arab Emirates and Aotearoa to create a three-minute silent film set to one of 10 musical scores composed for the festival.

Entries for the IYSFF NZ National 2021 competition are now open. For submission guidelines and soundtracks visit the IYSFF's official website www.makesilentfilm.com. For more information about the Aotearoa competition visit www.facebook.com/groups/IYSFFNZ or email iysff@tauranga.govt.nz

IYSFF NZ NATIONALS 2020 AWARD WINNERS

FIRST PLACE - $1500
LOST IN TIME
Sophia Kwon (Carmel College, Auckland) & Daniel Wardadi (Lynfield College, Auckland)
Sponsored Baycourt Community & Arts Centre

SECOND PLACE – $1000
CHASING SHADOWS
Tearani Wikohika (Tauranga Girls' College, Tauranga)
Sponsored Baycourt Community & Arts Centre

THIRD PLACE – $500
O, SNAP!
Samuel Chitty (Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington)
Sponsored Film Bay of Plenty

BEST DIRECTOR
O, SNAP!
Samuel Chitty (Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington)

BEST ACTOR
VENICE HARRIS
Chasing Shadows

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
CHASING SHADOWS
Tearani Wikohika (Tauranga Girls' College, Tauranga)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
SHRINE
Asher Wadsworth and Mya McRoberts (Tauranga Girls' College, Tauranga)

BEST EDITING
LOST IN TIME
Sophia Kwon (Carmel College, Auckland)

BEST SHOT
CHASING SHADOWS
Tearani Wikohika (Tauranga Girls' College, Tauranga)

IYSFF NZ NATIONAL POSTER COMPETITION
SILENCE OF THE SHADOW
Benjamin Mason (Lynfield College, Auckland)
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