Chris Stedile
Rossland News
The Rossland Council for Arts and Culture (RCAC) proudly presented the eighth annual West Kootenay U19 Film Festival to an enthusiastic crowd that packed the Miners Hall Saturday night.
Short films were submitted from youth located all through the West Kootenays, from Rossland to New Denver to Nelson. The five categories for submissions were: action/adventure, drama, non-fiction/documentary, comedy and sports. All categories had three films excluding non-fiction/documentary which received only two.
“I love these festivals by the younger crowd,” said one viewer, “it may be made by kids but it can certainly be enjoyed by all ages.”
After all the films had been presented, the five judges — Shane Hainsworth, Arlo Stevens, Justine Kelsie, Larry Doell and Joost Winckers — took time to tally their scores and decide a winner.
In the meantime several films not entered in the competition, were shown. The Old Firehall was a crowd favourite, showcasing the historic building itself and how enchanting and cozy one night of show, drink and dance can be.
Luck, created during the action film workshop put on by RCAC and the Youth Action Network (YAN) followed the adventure of a young girl with her eyes glued to her cellphone. Chaos and pandemonium ensue in the streets of Rossland but she’s too busy texting to notice. Good thing luck was on her side.
Finally, the film LGBTQ was shown to the audience. Created by Brogan Pastro, Connor Dunham and many residents of Rossland, the film was put together to show support for people with diverse sexual orientations in the Rossland community.
Rossland’s youth put on quite the show and once the scores were tallied, it was announced that Rosslanders took first place in every category.
“I’m the Paula Abdul of the night,” judge Kelsie laughed, “everyone gets a ten, everything was so great.”
The winner of the action category was Caelum Scott with his video Tug Tug Tug, based on the horror story of the same name.
James Klemmensen was awarded first place in both documentary and drama for Commune[ity] and Frayed, respectively.
Everything that Happened in 2014 by Liam Barnes won grand prize in the Sports category. The description reads, “From the creators of every local free-running video ever made comes a wonderful burrito of excitement and drama. The title is slightly misleading and should read Everything that Ended Up on Liam’s Hard Drive After Eighteen Months of Inactivity.”
Last but certainly not least, Scott made his second appearance on stage to receive two more awards for his comedy film, The Package. First place in the Comedy category and People’s Choice were given to the young man who said he was “at a loss for words.”