Films have the ability to make you feel happy, sad, loved, scared, nervous, calm, playful, courageous, optimistic, sympathetic, intrigued, helpless, anxious or empowered—the films screened at the 2013 Robin Anderson Film Festival for student filmmakers were no exception. Graduating Year 12 boy Sam Evans (ON 2013) took out two categories in the prestigious prize including Best Non-Fiction Film in the Seniors category and Best Cinematography overall.

Held at the Dendy Opera Quays on Friday 8 November, the 2013 Robin Anderson Film Festival celebrated the exceptional and talented emerging school student filmmakers of today. Since its induction a decade ago, the Robin Anderson Film Festival has taken off with thousands of films submitted from students all across Australia over the years. This year, there were 16 nominated films from over 300 submissions in the categories of Fiction, Non-fiction, Animation, and Supershort. Sam’s entry was a Non Fiction film called  All Artworks are for Sale Unless Otherwise Stated which explores the nature and legitimacy of street art, more commonly known as Graffiti.

The top prize went to Ashleigh Vrajlal and Olivia Simpson, students from MLC School, Burwood, who study Film at Newington College with Ms Rosalind McKenzie as part of their International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.Their Fiction film, One Small Step, won the Robin Anderson Award for Best Film of the Festival.

Robin Anderson was a highly successful documentary filmmaker who with her husband and filmmaking partner, Bob Connolly, produced award-winning films including Rats in the Ranks and Facing the Music. When Ms Anderson’s life was tragically cut short in 2002, the Robin Anderson Film Festival was established in 2003 by MLC School to honour Ms Anderson’s passion and contributions to the film industry. Now in its tenth year, this national film competition and festival continues to support emerging Australian student filmmakers who have the same enthusiasm and drive for film as Ms Anderson.

We congratulate Sam on a wonderful win that culminates a very successful year of filmmaking. We wish him every success in what can already be deemed as a bright future ahead of him.