THUNDER BAY – Four young filmmakers from the graduating class of the Confederation College Film Production department have received awards from the North of Superior Film Association for distinction in directing their first student films. Barrett Gobert received first place honours for his documentary, “The Final Grind,” an excellent profile of Lakehead University Women’s Varsity wrestler, Emma Brightwell.
Second place honours went to Jason Leonard Hunter for his atmospheric music video, “Awakenings.” Third place featured a tie between Nancy Shaw for her quirky romantic comedy, “Mouthy” and Sarah Furlotte for “Lady Olivia,” another comedy about an angst-ridden twenty-something female pining for Mr. Right.
The four young directors receive cash awards totalling $600.00 as well as a short critique highlighting the strong points of their films. The judging panel looked for creativity in different aspects of filmmaking including direction, cinematography, editing, lighting, and sound.
The awards were presented during “Film Night,” the annual screening of the department’s grad students’ films, at SilverCity April 19th.
This marks the 17th year that NOSFA has issued the David Brown awards to graduates of the College’s film production program. The awards are named in honour of NOSFA’s dedicated, long-serving vice-president, David Brown, who passed away from cancer in 2008.