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On Thursday 22 November 2012 the University of Western Australia’s Communications and Media Studies department hosted the ‘Stories from the Silver Screen’ Showcase Screening. Representing the culmination of three years hard work, the gala event displayed what the most creative and talented Communications and Media Studies students at the University accomplished.

This year the event was held at the art-deco Astor Theatre in Mount Lawley. Guests were invited to spend the night watching short movies that have been produced, directed, filmed and edited by the students.

At the close of the night a number of industry judges awarded prizes to the best films. Congratulations to the cast and crew of Bird Boy for taking out the People’s Choice Award, and Toska for winning the industry award for best short film. A special thank you goes to our esteemed judges Ryan Hargrave and Mark Zagar who are both at the forefront of film production in WA,and also to  Peter Templeman who received an Oscar nomination for his short film ‘The Savior’.

Under the guidance of Tauel Harper (Chair of Communication and Media Studies), the event was largely organised by three third-year University students in the midst of completing their Communication and Media Studies degrees. Rose Daniels, Lauren Bourke and Heather Fordham were thrilled to be a part of organising such a prestigious event.

“Organising the showcase has been a particularly exciting and interesting experience, especially because one of the films I have made was shown on the night”, said Lauren Bourke. “The films produced this year were of a professional standard which made for a very memorable evening”.

Students were divided up into groups of five to seven members and had the entire semester to create a five-minute film on a drama or documentary of their choosing. The films range from gritty documentaries to dramas about murder, old age and library romances.

The event was made possible by our generous sponsors, in particular Kestrel Creative and Next Byte who, along with the Faculty of Arts, were extremely supportive.

The event was highly anticipated by all Communications students and the staff received some great feedback from the night.

“The student’s films have been of a high quality for many years, but we have not had the opportunity to expose them to such a large audience,” said Dr Tauel Harper, “It was a fantastic night and based upon the success of the evening we hope it will become an annual event”.

Media references

Lauren Bourke 0403 556 513, [email protected]