Young silent film makers win big

Lynfield College students to represent NZ

Jubilant Lynfield College students (L-R) Harry Ashley, Kais Azimullah, Matthew Tribble and Joseph Hisayasu are awarded overall winner for their silent film ATTACK! of the Death Robot.

Lynfield College students have taken out a raft of awards, including Overall Winner, at the NZ finals of the International Youth Silent Film F[KBS1] estival which was held in Tauranga in October.

The silent film ATTACK! of the DEATH ROBOT produced by Joseph Hisayasu, Matthew Tribble, Kais Azimullah and Harry Ashley from Lynfield College, was announced as the overall winner, receiving high praise from celebrity judges, actor and director David de Latour (Alibi, Westside) and Bay of Plenty Film CEO Anton Steel. The students were also presented with a first-place cash prize of $2000.

On top of the first-place win, Joseph Hisayasu, 16, also won the award for Best Director for his work on ATTACK! of the DEATH ROBOT.

It was also a night to remember for Harry Ashley, 17, and fellow students Raymond Feng and Shamir Sarif whose film Overexposed won second-place and a cash prize of $1500. The team also took out the awards for Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Production Design.

The IYSFF is a competition which challenges filmmakers, aged 20 years and under from across the USA, Australia, the UAE and New Zealand to create a three-minute silent film set to one of 10 musical scores composed especially for the festival. The top three films will represent New Zealand at the week-long International Youth Silent Film Festival Final and will be screened during the IYSFF Global Awards Show in Portland, Oregon, in June 2019.

All of this year’s Top 12 silent films were screened during the ceremony, each featuring live musical accompaniment from IYSFF composer and award-winning organist Nathan Avakian who performed on Baycourt’s mighty Wurlitzer Organ.

L-R: Matthew Tribble, Joseph Hisayasu and Kais Azimullah (ATTACK! of the Death Robot) and Raymond Feng, Shamir Sarif and Harry Ashley (Overexposed) with their awards.

The Lynfield College films and makers are:

ATTACK! OF THE DEATH ROBOT (category: Hero): Writer and Director: Joseph Hisayasu; Cinematographer, Editor and VFX: Matthew Tribble; and starring Kais Azimullah and Harry Ashley (as the robot).

Winner, 1st Place. Also won Best Director (Joseph Hisayasu) and nominated for best Production Design.
OVER-EXPOSED (Category: Noir): Writer, Director and Editor: Harry Ashley; Cinematographer and Colourist: Raymond Feng; and starring Shamir Sarif.

2nd Place. Won Best Cinematography (Raymond Feng), Best Editing (Harry Ashley), Best Production Design. Nominated for Best Shot and Best Director.

THE TERRORIST WHO TRIPPED (Category: Slapstick): Writer, Director, Cinematographer, and Editor Tremaine Leaso. Contributing crew: Daniel Brown, Abigail Blackie, and Kunal Vallabh, and starring Tremaine Leaso and Rose MacClure.

Finalist. Nominated for Best Editing and Best Actor.

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Eds note: I found these short films highly entertaining and well worth the watch. You can see them at https://vimeo.com/album/5175310.  Massive congrats to these talented students. All the best for Portland!