An audience of over 200 people flocked to Newington’s Duckmanton Theatre on Thursday night to watch the screening of Newington’s 17th Annual Film Festival.

Showcasing the work of CineArts and film students, the audience enjoyed quality films centred on this year’s theme ‘Time for Change.’ The screening also featured films from other schools including Presbyterian Ladies College and The Scots College.

“The wonderful thing about film is that it is able to convey these ideas in minimised or exaggerated ways,” said Senior Prefect Lachlan McIntyre, who opened the event. “So as audience members, enjoy the films, but be active, look for what the director is trying to convey with a certain shot. Think about the deliberate choice of words that the writer has used and watch the details in the performer’s movements, this is where you’ll find the real depth in film and where some hidden meanings can be found.”

Short films captured the heart of a narrative in a few minutes, making viewers laugh and reflect on prevalent issues in our society.

Filmmakers were congratulated on their ability to transport an audience to a new world in a matter of minutes. From balloon heads to a film about a film festival, within a film festival, this year’s films were a reflection of the hard work and commitment of the Newington film community.

The winners on the evening were:

Best Actor – Dylan Rubin (9/LE) for ‘Tripping on Youth’
Best Sound Design – Will Angus (9/MA) for ‘Josh’
Best Scriptwriter – Matthew Lowe for ‘Cycle’ (The Scots College)
Best Cinematographer – George Pople (11/JN) and Aston Brown (11/MO) for ‘A Long Way Home’
Best Special Effects – Xavier Papps (10/MA) for ‘The Date’
Best Editor – Dhruv Kumar (9/JN) and Calum Boland (9/PR) for ‘Examinum’
Best Director – Euan McKenzie (10/JN) for ‘Auxillum’
Best Junior Film – Christina Shi and Angeni Bai for ‘Airheads’ (PLC Croydon)
Best Senior Film – Josh Macdessi (10/MO), Isaac Carriline (10/MO) and Philip Langshaw (10/MA) for ‘Losing it’
People’s Choice Winner – Nelson Crossley (11/PR), Jarrah McEvoy (S11/FL), Anton Fichtenmaier (11/MO) and Kevin Wu (11/KL) for ‘The Film Festival’

Next year’s theme is ‘Connect’ and students from Year 9, 10, 11 and 12 wishing to join CineArts in 2018 are encouraged to send Mrs. Naomi Tsvirko (ntsvirko@newngton.nsw.edu.au) an email expressing their interest in the program.

Naomi Tsvirko
English Teacher