A young Kiwi filmmaker has conquered the Everest of the silent filmmaking world by winning first place at the International Youth Silent Film Festival (IYSFF) Global Awards 2022.

Napier filmmaker Dylan Pritchard's animated short film The Climb won first place at this year's Global Awards held recently.

Traditionally, finalists from across the world attend the awards held at The Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Oregon, US, but due to the Covid pandemic, this year's ceremony were streamed online via YouTube.

The IYSFF challenges young filmmakers, aged 20 years and under, from across the United States, Europe, Australia, The United Arab Emirates and Aotearoa New Zealand to create a three-minute silent film, set to one of 10 musical scores composed specifically for the festival by award-winning organist Nathan Avakian.

Dylan, 19, secured his spot at the Global Awards after his film, about a young mountaineer that sets off to conquer her dream but comes across some personal struggles along the way, won second place in the IYSFF New Zealand National Awards Final 2021 held last November.

A scene from Napier filmmaker Dylan Pritchard's award-winning animated short film ‘The Climb'. Photo: Dylan Pritchard.

'Taking part in the IYSFF was a lot of fun, the whole process from the idea to the storyboarding, animating, editing and finally to the finished product was a blast! Animating a full video like this can be painstaking and tedious, but I knew the idea had to come to life and that thought fuelled me through the many hours working on The Climb.

'I would also like to thank my dad, Lee, for always pushing me to finish this project when sometimes I would get a little bit lazy in the process. He has a little cameo at the 40 second mark in the taxi.”

Judging this year's Global Awards were celebrity jurors, X Men and Transformers producer Tom Desanto, Star Trek Deep Space 9, For All Mankind, and Grimm producer Steve Oster, and IYSFF Global Awards 2021 winner and Ohio University film student Sam Brandes.

The jurors' praised Dylan for his animation skills, the visual aesthetic he achieved in The Climb which gave it an ‘epic feel', and his ability to produce an animated film that was highly technical but still maintained the ‘emotional beats' crucial to the film's story.

'The Climb is an amazing piece of work and the fact that one person did all of it, that kind of blows my mind. I know how hard animation can be when you're trying to get emotion, but Dylan accomplished so much heart and so much technical finesse in that film. I'm really looking forward to what he does next,” says celebrity juror Tom Desanto.

The IYSFF was founded in 2009 by American philanthropist Jon ‘JP' Palanuk, who said he was extremely impressed hearing the critiques of Dylan‘s film from this year's celebrity jurors.

'These industry professionals understand better than I what it took to create his film. The beauty and craftsmanship, the emotion and execution are truly stunning. Dylan and New Zealand can be very proud.”

Tauranga filmmaker Asher Wadsworth, age 18. Photo: Supplied.

Also representing New Zealand at this year's Global Awards was Tauranga filmmaker and IYSFF NZ National Awards 2021 first place winner Asher Wadsworth and their film Insomnia.

Asher, 18, says they enjoyed their IYSFF experience, and while they didn't win higher honours at the Global Awards, they included her film Insomnia in her successful application to the Media Design School in Auckland where Asher is now studying 3D animation as part of a Bachelor of Art and Design.

'Although it was very challenging, having my work shown in this way made competing worthwhile. The music is very creatively inspiring and seeing everyone's finished films is always amazing!”

'Silent films aren't really appreciated much in the film industry now, so creating a film that blends the modern and traditional is an awesome challenge for any filmmaker. The IYSFF music is just the right length to create a story without it seeming like an impossible task and creating a film with friends is the best!”

A scene from IYSFF NZ National 2021 winning film ‘Insomnia' by Tauranga filmmaker Asher Wadsworth. Photo: Supplied.

Dylan also loved his IYSFF journey and believes all young Kiwi filmmakers with a passion for filmmaking and storytelling should seriously consider entering the IYSFF competition.

'I would highly recommend getting together with your mates and coming up with something to enter into this competition. Some really amazing stuff can come from some creative minds cooperating on projects like these.”

The IYSFF made its Aotearoa New Zealand debut at Baycourt Community & Arts Centre in Tauranga back in 2016. Since then, two Kiwi films have won first place at the Global Awards, which includes Overexposed by former Lynfield College students Harry Ashley Raymond Feng and Shamir Sarif in 2019.

Joining Overexposed on the podium in 2019 was fellow Kiwi film Random Act of Kindness by Otago filmmaker Benaiah Dunn and Conner Lindsay, Mitchell Hay, Callum Scott, Thomas Dunn, Ben Amende, Jonah Smith, Nathan Pedigal, and Michael Wade, which won third place.

It was also the second time Benaiah had won higher international honours in the IYSFF, with his film The Chase, created with his brother Thomas, winning second place at the 2018 awards.

Baycourt manager Reena Snook says Kiwi filmmakers have a strong reputation in the IYSFF, and she not only applauded Dylan for his win, but also welcomed him into the New Zealand pantheon of IYSFF international winners.

'Congratulations Dylan, we're over the moon with your win on the international stage. The Climb is an amazing piece of filmmaking and storytelling, and all of your hard work, effort and creativity has truly paid off,” said Snook.

'This latest win at the Global Awards just confirms that the future of filmmaking in Aotearoa New Zealand is brighter and stronger than ever. I definitely recommend keeping an eye on Dylan because this is a potential Oscar winner of the future.”

The search is on once again for the best young Kiwi filmmakers in Aotearoa with submissions now open for the International Youth Silent Film Festival (IYSFF) New Zealand Nationals 2022.

Submissions for the this year's competition close at 11.59pm on Thursday 1 September. For more information about the Aotearoa New Zealand competition or to enter, visit Baycourt Community & Arts Centre's website at www.baycourt.co.nz/iysffnz

The IYSFF NZ Nationals 2022 is proudly delivered with support from major media partner The Breeze Tauranga 95.8FM.

Links:
• THE CLIMB: https://youtu.be/G7Wef7-Tcb0
• INSOMNIA: https://youtu.be/IBzDoTt2cbk
• IYSFF GLOBAL AWARDS 2022: https://youtu.be/GCe68jkpVmQ
• IYSFF NZ NATIONAL AWARDS 2021: https://youtu.be/lt42saCuIUQ