Local film-making enthusiasts from Taupō have won awards and praise at New Zealand’s largest and longest-running film festival. The Vista Foundation 48Hours competition had more than 500 film-making teams take part this year, and Taupō ’s Great Lake Film Society proudly took home a collection of awards for their movie Loose End . The society’s collection of Bay of Plenty Regional Awards included Best Film, Best Cinematography, Best Script, and Best Performer.
Whack Crizard, another Taupō team of first-timers in the competition also won big, winning the award for Best Animation for their film The Cheesening . Loose End tells the story of a world where each person’s life is bound to their own single red string. It was made with a team of 16 locals contributing to the script, design, acting, and production, to create a touching and comedic film with only two lines of spoken dialogue, and plenty of visual humour.
Taupō-Nui-a-Tia teacher Cameron Walton, who won Best Performer for his role in Loose End , was an unfortunate officer worker who found himself untethered from his lifeline, hopping between multiple diverging and crisscrossing strings. Walton reflected on the creative experience, saying it’s a “celebration of all those who have passion and love for film”. “Being able to come together with all of the teams, seeing their films on the big screen, and celebrating what we’ve all come up with together is a privilege.
” Emiel Van Wilsem Vos from Whack .
