A marriage between Shakespeare and the State of Origin has made Pine Rivers State High School students the champions of the first Queensland Cinergy Short Films contest.
The Pine Rivers team was one of three high school groups that made Shakespeare-inspired short films at The University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus in April.
The other student production teams were from Balmoral State High School and Mountain Creek State High School.
Cinergy judge Professor Michael Bromley, who is Deputy Head of UQ’s School of Journalism and Communication, said Pine Rivers’ winning ‘Ronald and Juliet’ was set around a State of Origin Rugby League series.
“It’s a nightmare scenario: a NSW family moves in next door just before kick off, and the Queensland son falls in love with the daughter from NSW,” he said.
“The Pine Rivers students have created a contemporary Romeo and Juliet with the two warring houses pitted against each other: mate against mate, state against state.
“I won’t give the game away, but suffice to say there is much courting by SMS and a tragic ending,” he said.
Professor Bromley commended the teams from Balmoral State High School and Mountain Creek State High School.
“In Balmoral’s film, ‘Ground Floor’, Shakespeare finds inspiration from modern Brisbane scenarios at UQ.
“A young Shakespeare accidentally sets fire to a manuscript and falls through a crazy time-zone trapdoor, emerging at ground level in a lift at UQ.
“He wanders the cloisters of UQ and catches glimpses of life on campus. Before his eyes, three women drinking coffee and laughing turn into the witches of Macbeth.
“He sees a couple with relationship troubles similar to those of Romeo and Juliet, and he watches two fighting young men transform into jousting Renaissance opponents.”
Mountain Creek State High School’s film ‘Guidance’ is a twisted tale based on Macbeth.
(View Pine Rivers Winning Video 16MB Quicktime Movie)
(View Balmoral Video 9.5MB Quicktime Movie)
(View Mountain Creek Video 14MB Quicktime Movie)
Associate Professor Frances Bonner, a UQ expert in film, television and other media studies, who was a Cinergy judge, said: “The Mountain Creek team did an extraordinary job, especially considering the students had not used cameras before.
“Girl guides Mandy and Bridget, or ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Macduff’, visit an old person`s home where three creepy `old ladies` tell Mandy about her future.
“Mandy`s mother (Lady Macbeth) enters the scene and the plot follows the Macbeth storyline, highlighting the theme of ‘ambition at the cost of others’,” Dr Bonner said.
The three school teams were selected from secondary school entries in a statewide scripting competition run by UQ, the Queensland Department of Education and the Arts and the Pacific Film and Television Commission.
Based at UQ’s Michie Building, Cement Box Theatre and Journalism School, the 26 students received tuition from industry representatives and used UQ media equipment to make their films.
Cinergy project manager Derek Weeks said he was amazed by the students’ achievements in a week-long workshop.
“In terms of how much was achieved in seven days, the product was outstanding.
“There is room in the various arts industries for all of them, should they wish to take a role in the future, and they should be extremely happy about the end product.”
Mr Weeks said the University setting inspired the students to progress towards tertiary studies.
“In terms of being at the university campus, and the St. Lucia campus in particularly, it is possibly one of the best in Brisbane for inspiring young people.”
Brisbane-based filmmaker Jennifer Ussi addressed the students during the workshop and said she was impressed by their enthusiasm.
She congratulated UQ on giving them an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a tertiary setting.
“I think the opportunity at the University was fabulous both for the actors and the film makers,” she said.
“The students were into their roles of producers or directors of photography, and I can certainly see a lot of them going on and making it a life-long career.
“It is all part and parcel of education and gives those students the thought, ’OK we can go forth and do this at university as well,’ and not only that, they are seeing how it is a beautiful university and it’s probably very inspirational to get out there and find further education,” she said.
The winning film will screen before an international audience of Shakespeare scholars and enthusiasts at the VIII World Shakespeare Congress, to be hosted by UQ next month. All three films will also feature in Cine Sparks – The Australian Film Festival for Young People, held, with the Brisbane International Film Festival, from July 24 to August 13.
Media contacts: VIII World Shakespeare Congress Senior Program Manager Melissa Western (07 3365 1125, melissa.western@uq.edu.au), or Fiona Kennedy at UQ Communications (07 3365 1088, 0413 380 012).
World Shakespeare Congress information: www.shakespeare2006.net
