National Youth Film Awards 20163 min read
Reading Time: 3 minutesSINGAPORE, 28 June 2016 ““ The spotlight will be cast upon the aspiring youth filmmakers from local Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs) next month; as they compete in this year’s edition of the National Youth Film Awards (NYFA).
A growing number of students for technical film crafts has been observed in Singapore, and the NYFA, organised by *SCAPE, was created to celebrate the best emerging young talent amongst them. It aims to establish and raise a national benchmark for excellence in film.
Mr. Tony Kam, Director of Programmes at *SCAPE shared; “This year saw a record number of 260 productions submitted. It’s very encouraging how our total number of entries exceeded last year’s. We were actually worried because we’d set such a high benchmark last year, so this is really encouraging.”
The films were put through a rigorous shortlisting process by NYFA’s 15-member jury, including award-winning director and screenwriter Lee Thean-jeen, veteran filmmaker and actor Jack Neo, film composer Alex Oh, and Vikram Channa of Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, amongst other distinguished industry heavyweights.
Mr. Nicholas Chee, NYFA Awards Director, said, “As the only local film competition for youth in Singapore, we see first-hand the immense talent, unique ideas and fresh content these emerging filmmakers bring to the table. With NYFA, we want to provide, not just a platform for them to showcase their work, be recognised by their peers and industry professionals, but to also serve as a springboard for them; opening doors of opportunity for future collaborations and creation. The nominees’ works were critically assessed by industry standards, and we were very impressed by the range of genres and high level of skillsets presented this year.”
Seven new categories have been introduced this year, bringing the total number of awards up to 20. These awards put special focus on highlighting the various technical crafts that go into filmmaking, and they include: Best Camera Work; Best Colour Grading; Best Lighting; Best Character Design in Animated Film; Best Writing in Animated Film; Best Editing in Documentary Film; and Best Camera Work in Documentary Film.
The winners of NYFA 2016 will be announced during an Awards Ceremony on Saturday, 23 July 2016. Minister of Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Grace Fu will be gracing the event. Winners will receive trophies, cash prizes of up to S$2,000 per award, and various industry-curated prizes.
Mr. Tony Kam further shared; “Since the inaugural edition, our NYFA alumni have gone on to achieve greater things for themselves ““ from releasing their own YouTube web series to working on commissioned films, commercials and music videos. The Awards reiterate *SCAPE’s commitment to engage with the youth in Singapore; to empower them to live out their dreams and aspirations. Today’s nominees could become household names of our film industry tomorrow, and we look forward to walking with them as they continue to develop their potential.”
NYFA 2016 is presented by DBS Bank Singapore, as part of its efforts to engage and recognise Singapore’s youth in diverse fields such as entrepreneurship, music and film.
More information on NYFA 2016 available on the Official Website.
