Local schools among film festival winners

BRANTFORD EXPOSITOR

Several city schools were winners in the fourth annual Holy Trinity Film Festival in Simcoe.

Open to all elementary and high school student filmmakers in Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk schools, the festival premiered about two dozen short films Wednesday night.

Brantford's Assumption College, Our Lady of Providence and Christ the King schools won awards at the gala, getting a share of $2,000 in prizes.

A Holy Trinity graphic anti-war production call Cry Havoc took both first place in the high school category and the people's choice award, winning a total of $600.

Assumption College films - Liberate My Slurpie and Smokesaurus - took second and third place.

At the elementary level, Our Lady of Providence won the first prize with the environmental film, Silent Threat. Lost Socks from Christ the King school and The Beginning of the End from St. Frances Cabrini in Delhi took the other prizes.

A special category added this year allowed the 200 spectators at the festival to vote for their favourite film.

Finally, a $100 award for a film that exhibited Christian values was given to a Holy Trinity mini-documentary on the annual Our Lady of Fatima parade.

Judges in the festival included representatives from various media outlets, including Kyle Christie and Leslie Gordon, two news anchors at CTV's Kitchener affiliate.

Festival organizer Caroline Freibauer, a Holy Trinity teacher, said this year's audience almost doubled in size.

"I'm really pleased with how the quality of the festival continues to improve year after year," she said.