Last year Glasgow City of Science took part in the European Science TV & New Media Awards and convened a voting panel of local young people for the international festival. Glasgow’s Young Jury watched a selection of science documentaries and voted towards choosing the overall winner. To compliment Young Jury activity, Glasgow City of Science developed a unique filmmaking element, challenging the group to create their own one-minute films. Culminating in a sensational awards event, the 60 Second Science Mobile Movie Competition has left an impressive legacy.
As well as inspiring the University of Glasgow’s MVLS (Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences) Impact in Sixty Seconds Competition, the model has been adopted as an official awards category in the European festival. Young filmmakers from across Europe are now encouraged to create and submit their sixty-second mobile phone science shorts.
For 2015, Glasgow City of Science partnered with GMAC Film (Glasgow’s talent development hub for independent filmmakers) to create an immersive skills development opportunity and competition. Supported by Creative Clyde and People Make Glasgow, SCI SHORTS invited local filmmakers to attend a Story Development Day in Glasgow Science Centre, and challenged them to produce one-minute films in response to the city’s ground-breaking scientific innovations in Satellites, Personalised Medicine and 3D Digital Visualization.
The range of short films received was staggering – including animation, puppetry, experimental video, documentary, poetry, comedy, horror, romance and drama. These incredible entries were showcased at a dynamic red carpet awards event in Glasgow Science Centre’s stunning Cineworld IMAX with over 100 people in attendance. Comprised of professional filmmakers and producers, our panel of experts deliberated for hours before selecting a recipient of the coveted Jury Award.
For her poetic short film Eclipse, the prize went to Rowan Ings who exclaims, “The experience of viewing my film in the IMAX cinema was quite amazing, and very intimidating.” This being her second film project, the prestigious award has inspired Rowan to pursue a future in filmmaking. “Before this award, I felt like it wasn’t an accessible option for me, and I really appreciate being given this encouragement.”
Glasgow City of Science’s Susie Mitchell presents Rowan Ings with the Jury Award
The audience of over 100 film-lovers also cast their votes, bestowing the Audience Award to charming science fiction short Ana, by Kevin Agnes and Ana Pinzon. “The act of telling a story related to science and with emotional content, in one-minute and only using a mobile to film, is quite a challenge,” says director Kevin Agnes. “Challenges like this make us filmmakers proud, but that is nothing compared to the empathy of the public with the film: this makes us feel willing to go beyond.”
Audience Award winning filmmakers: Kevin Agnes and Ana Pinzon
Ana, Eclipse and four of the other Glasgow shorts will go on to the European Science TV & New Media Awards and Festival 2015. For contributing the one-minute film concept, Glasgow City of Science has been honoured with Associate status in the European Awards and will proudly submit these six SCI SHORTS. Results of the international festival will be announced at a glamorous awards ceremony in Lisbon on 25th November. There is every chance that Glasgow’s young filmmakers will be amongst the winners.
LINKS
Watch the SCI SHORTS 2015 films here
European Science TV & New Media Awards
Creative Clyde