Films from companies in Australia, United Kingdom and United States, including one narrated by actress Cate Blanchett, have won Best of Festival awards in the 2014 US International Film & Video Festival competition.
Best of Festival-Corporate went to “Barossa. Be Consumed,” entered by kwp! Advertising, Adelaide, New South Wales. Best of Festival-Education was won by The Edge Picture Co. Ltd., London, for "Children of the World," and the Best of Festival-Documentary winner was MacGillivray Freeman Films, Laguna Beach, Calif., for “Journey to the South Pacific.”
The advertising film “Barossa. Be Consumed” reflects the luxurious accommodations, award-winning wines and applauded cuisine of Australia’s wine capital about two hours from Adelaide. The work was done for the South Australia Tourism Commission and produced by Moth Projects. It was directed by Jeffrey Darling and edited by Adam Wills.
"Children of the World," a series of 21 three-minute short films featuring a day in the life of children from different countries, was produced for the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Saudi Arabia. Phil Blundell, owner and executive producer at The Edge Picture Co., was executive producer of the project. The films will be viewed in interactive digital pods in the One World Exhibit at the center. The center, sponsored by Saudi Aramco, is scheduled to open in 2015. The production also received a Gold Camera Award in Education: Primary/Elementary Schools, a Silver Screen Award in Corporate: Specialty Productions and a Certificate for Creative Excellence in Corporate: Public Relations.
"Journey to the South Pacific,” selected the Best of Festival-Documentary, was produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films and IMAX Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. The film with narration from Blanchett takes the viewer on an adventure to the tropical islands of remote West Papua where Jawi, a young island boy, enounters whale sharks, sea turtles and manta rays that are among the more than 2,000 species of sea life in the area.
The production highlights the importance of living in balance with the ocean planet. The film was directed by Greg MacGillivray, a two-time Academy Award-nominee, and Stephen Judson and produced by Shaun MacGillivray and Mark Krenzien. “Journey to the South Pacific” was written by Stephen Judson with a musical score by Steve Wood. Wood, who was Kenny Loggins' musical director for nine years, has worked with a variety of musicians on MacGillivray films from Sting to the Dave Matthews Band.
MacGillivray Freeman Files has 35 giant-screen films to its credit, including “Everest,” and “To Fly!” which has played at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum non-stop since 1976. The company received Oscar nominations for “The Living Sea” and “Dolphins.”
Entrants from 19 countries received 120 awards in the 2014 US International Film & Video Festival. These included 16 First Place Gold Camera Awards, 39 Silver Screen Awards, 64 Certificates for Creative Excellence and a Student Certificate. In addition, 12 productions were nominated for Best of Festival (Grand Prix), and the One World Award was won by GMA News TV, Quezon City, Philippines, for a program on Filipino child laborers.
All winners can be viewed at www.filmfestawards.com.
