Year 11 students, Ethan and Jonathan were overcome with joy, after it was announced that they had taken out first place at the 2024 Cinesnaps Grand Finale.
Their winning short film, Timeframe, follows a boy who feels neglected by his working mother and who, because of this, refuses to put effort into school. In response, his teacher puts him in a ‘Groundhog Day’ like time loop-, where every time does not do his homework, his day repeats. In the journey of learning to complete it, this emotional film shows how he betters himself and changes his life.
“We had to incorporate the theme of ‘frame’ for this year’s competition and, when we were brainstorming, we thought of a time frame repeating like ‘Groundhog Day’” said Ethan, speaking on the idea that formed the basis of their project.
This is the second year that Ethan and Jonathan made it to the Grand Final of the competition, and they invested time and energy to ensure their work stood apart this time around. “We tried to increase the quality of the film in terms of production value, camerawork, editing, and the visual effects in it, and we try to play on the audience’s emotions. Our last film was very emotional but lacked that production value, so we tried to hit that production value hard this time,” explained Jonathan.
Initially not entirely confident with their entry, Ethan and Jonathan were floored when they were announced as the night’s winners, necessitating an impromptu winner’s speech. “There were a lot of good films, so we did not think we were going to win. So, when we did, we were quite surprised and happy,” said Jonathan. Ethan agreed saying, “I just thought it was funny because, beforehand, I said to Jonathan that as I did the opening speech, he’d have to do the closing speech if we won. So, when were announced, I was pointing at him the whole time, knowing we did not prepare anything!”
Also as part of CinefestOz, actor and producer Jeremy Lindsay Taylor visited Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School to speak to students about the film industry. He was also coincidentally one of the judges at the Cinesnaps competition, and he thought their short film stood out from the rest and was very deserved of the win.
“Even their title “Timeframe” is clever and out of the box. To use the theme of ‘frame’ and then to make it about time, and time repeating itself like ‘Groundhog Day’, was a real character’s journey,” said Mr Taylor. “I thought the editing was stunning and the performances were just beautiful. It was just across the board really well done, and well deserved to be the winner,” he concluded.
Both students have responsibly said that the prize money will go to savings for now, with their sights now set on their school Year 11 documentary projects, and they are already planning ahead for their major Year 12 individual films.
