Films from 15 countries were selected for Gold Camera (First Place) awards in the 2009 U.S. International Film & Video Festival. The top-rated films include corporate, documentary, educational and entertainment productions. Leading the Corporate winners were Creative Technologies (CTI) of Los Angeles, which received three Gold Camera awards, and I-MOTUS, Surry, England, with two.
CTI received awards for “The Lead Element,” which highlights the Future Combat Systems Manned Ground Vehicle, a replacement for the Abrams tank; “The Mission” describes the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV 300) made by Boeing for the U.S. Army, and “What if..?” examines the role of ongoing basic research in national security.
The I-MOTUS film, made as part of a campaign to promote patient dignity in the United Kingdom, won two Gold Camera awards in Public Relations and Training. “Dignity – How would you feel?” was an internet component to a campaign by the Royal College of Nursing, London, designed to help frontline nurses influence policies at a local level.
Other Corporate Gold winners are:
— Mackevision, Ferndale, Mich., which won for “Best of Scirocco,” a film sequence that highlights the web special and launch of the new Volkswagen Scirocco.
— “FH16 – Beyond Performance,” STARK Film & Event, Göteborg, Sweden, promotes the new FH16 Volvo trucks at events, exhibits, in dealer reception areas and on the website.
— “Lamborghini Estoque,” produced by Mackevision in Ferndale, Mich., was used for initial presentation of the vehicle at the 2008 Paris Auto Show.
— “Toyota Global Vision Film,” produced by Jack Morton Worldwide, London, was the opener for the European Retailer Meeting held every three years.
— “Creatures of Habit,” by Kemper Kommunikation GmbH, Frankfurt, Germany, emphasized the Porsche motorsports commitment with the aim of increasing interest in the Trans Siberian Rally.
— “Silver Bay,” from Omnicron Productions Ltd., Auckland, New Zealand, promotes Queenstown as a popular holiday destination.
— “Stoneleigh. Stonegrown,” also from Omnicron, tells the vintage story of Stoneleigh wines for the wine trade, media and the Pernod Ricard staff.
— “The Idea,” from Jump Studios, Calgary, Canada, promotes the studio as a non-typical edit house with specialty in original creative design and animation.
— “World Congress 2010” — Iceni® Productions Ltd., Lichfield, UK, launched the international promotion for the 2010 Association of Town Centre Management and the International Downtown Association world meeting in London.
— “Inner Values” by Kemper Kommunikation GmbH, Frankfurt, Germany, introduced the new Porsche Boxster and its technology to enthusiasts.
— “15 minutes with the Swiss Armed Forces,” by Electronic Media Center EMC, Berne, Switzerland, shows the military carrying out various missions in an effort to acquaint viewers with the armed forces. It also can be used for instruction.
— “Ports in Motion,” Juister Imaginaries, Middleburg, The Netherlands, was designed to create brand awareness for the young harbor authority, Zeeland Seaports.
— “Social Welfare Department Corporate Video,” done by Creative Creature Company, Hong Kong, introduced the public to the welfare department and its services.
— “It was Magic,” from Firehouse, London, supported a road show event for the staff of Aviva plc, the country’s largest insurance company.
— “The Blue Denmark,” by Citizen Dane, Copenhagen, was targeted at persons interested in the Danish maritime area by the same name. The film is designed so that groups can show portions of it or rearrange the film or add to the film to target a specific audience.
— The Hague Impressions,” ZCENE MovingMediaCompany BV, Loosdrecht, The Netherlands, promotes the city of The Hague.
— Back to Basics “Opening” from Borish BV, Amsterdam, was created to open the 2009 Annual Senior Management meeting of TNT television.
— “Eye on Amsterdam,” from the Amsterdam Tourism & Congress Bureau, encourages visitors to make Amsterdam their choice for tourism, business and international conferences. The film was designed to be streamed on the internet and web TV as well as You Tube, Facebook and other social networking venues.
— “Salamanca Ciudad del Español,” created by Video On, Madrid, Spain, promotes the Salamanca area as the best place to learn Spanish. The oldest university created in Spain is in that city, and its students tell the story of the area.
Documentaries Include 3D Rugby Match
Documentaries receiving a Gold Camera included a world first effort to deliver a live 3D broadcast of a rugby match via satellite in March 2008. “3D Rugby Live – Scotland vs. England Calcutta Cup,” from Can Communicate, Richmond, England, worked with a consortium of companies that joined with BBC to broadcast a rugby game in Scotland to viewers in a London theater.
Other Gold Camera winners in Documentary were:
— “Marathon Love,” by LMNO Productions, Encino, Calif., aired on the Discovery Health Channel, follows the lives of Jamie Parks and Lynn McGovern, a couple who were engaged to be married in 1987 when she had an accident that left her in a coma for seven months. Parks stayed by her side during the coma and her recovery, and they married seven years later. The documentary includes home videos of them with their child and of the marathon races where Jamie ran and pushed Lynn in a wheelchair.
— “Controlling the Discourse: The ‘Putin Empire’ and the Media,” NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp), Tokyo, explores how former Soviet President Vladimir Putin forged the power that still allows him to control media.
— “O2-The molecules that made our World,” ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corp.), Vienna, follows the journey of a molecule of oxygen through thousands of years, including its role in the death of the dinosaurs and other key moments in history.
— Supermen of Malegaon,” MediaCorp Pte Ltd., Caldecott Productions Int’l, Singapore, tells the story about an Indian town called Malegaon and its people’s efforts to improve their dreary lifestyle through its tiny film industry.
Educational Films Focus On Social Issues
Gold Camera winners in the Educational category included “Lege piekken (Empty Seats), by TBS Productions, Nuenen, The Netherlands, which was commissioned by the National Monument Camp Vught to teach children in grades 5 and 6 about the horrors of Nazism and about the lives ordinary people in extraordinary times. The production shows the disappearance of several Jewish children from a school class in the Netherlands in 1941.
— “Street Smart Street Safe,” is part of a program by Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Ltd., Kingston, Jamaica, to teach road safety after 342 people, including 21 under the age of 14, died on the roads of Jamaica in 2008. The film is part of the police department’s visits to schools and has been aired on local and cable networks.
— “Selma!” was commissioned by Geneva-based NGO (World Association for the School as an instrument of Peace), to create interest in human rights among teen-agers in developed countries. It was created by Forster Film LLC, Winterhur, Switzerland.
— “No Rewind,” by Para Tudo! Productions, Raleigh, N.C., is designed to make young people more aware of teen dating violence. It can be viewed on the internet and through a DVD distributed by rape crises hotlines, abuse prevention groups, churches and schools.
— “The Show with the Elephant, Episode 111, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), Cologne, Germany, is aimed at a 3- to 6-year-old audience and mixes funny stories with documentaries of people drawing, singing and painting.
— “Stop That Pickle! & Chicks and Salsa” Episode 803 “Between the Lions,” a PBS show from WGBH, Boston, Mass., is designed to help children learn to read with an emphasis on children in high-poverty communities.
— “The Little Boy Scout,” by Moving Bits Pte Ltd., is about a youngster inspired to scouting by his grandfather and was the opening video of a world meeting of scouts and later was used as a recruitment film by the Singapore Scouts Association.
Stefon Harris Videos Win In Entertainment
Gold winners in the Entertainment category were led by WGVU, Grand Rapids, Mich., which captured three Gold Camera awards in entertainment with works about musician Stefon Harris. WGVU won for “Stefon Harris: The Art of Listening,” which focused on the process of composing and creating original music (judges labeled it “visually exciting”); “Stefon Harris: Portraits of The Promised,” in which he performs a composition created for a Unitarian Church in Kalamazoo, Mich., and “Stefon Harris and Friends: African Tarantella – Dances with Duke,” featuring one of his live concerts.
Two works from Mainichi Broadcasting System Inc., Osaka, Japan, won Golds. They are “Byodian Sound Stage,” Mainichi’s capture of the annual world musician event that takes place at temples in the ancient cities of Kyoto and Nara, Japan. Mainichi’s “Ode to Joy: 10,000 Voices Resound!” featured a chorus of 10,000, all ages and both professional and amateur, who gathered to sing Friedrich Schiller’s hymn. The annual concert reflects happenings of the year, and this concert was to convey the spirit of love and peace.
Other top winners in Entertainment are:
— “Nigella Express,” by Pacific Television, London, United Kingdom, helped launch Nigella Lawson’s new cookbook on fast and simple recipes; Food Network USA supported the project.
— “Kicks & Hugs,” made for Tirol Werbung GmbH, Innsbruck, Austria, was created to show the emotional side of the 2008 European Football Championship in Tirol featuring games by Sweden, Spain and Russia. The production company was by Chiaro Scuro AB, Helsingborg, Sweden,
The competition drew entrants from 22 countries. The U. S. International Film & Video Festival was founded in 1967 in Chicago and is now headquartered in Los Angeles. Full details on winners are at www.filmfestawards.com.
