OnScreen 2024
NZ On Screen have partnered with RQP — the team behind Smokefreerockquest, Smokefree Tangata Beats, Showquest, Rockshop Bandquest, Toi and Stills — for their OnScreen short-film programme.
Congratulations to Iñaki Belton-Ilarri, a Year-13 student from Cashmere High School in Canterbury, who won first place nationally in OnScreen, the nationwide short film challenge for high school students.
Iñaki’s film The Visitor stood out with the OnScreen judges for its high level of production design and technical achievement, combined with a simple yet compelling storyline. Iñaki took on multiple roles to execute his vision, including the roles of producer, director, editor, screenwriter and composer, to create and deliver the film in the Narrative Short Film section of the competition. The key performers in the short are Miles Clayton (Andrew), Max Charteris (The Visitor) and Miles Rodriguez (Andrew’s co-worker).
The Visitor follows Andrew, a lonely teenager who escapes his life at every opportunity. Then, something arrives in the night that invites him into a new world.
View the winning OnScreen entry, The Visitor, here. Iñaki’s entry joins Ivy Feng’s 2023 winner, Sandcastle, Pepi Olliver-Bell’s 2022 OnScreen entry, Oliver, and Lily Knox’s 2021 OnScreen entry Heroine on NZ On Screen.
The OnScreen national heats were judged by a panel of screen industry professionals, with the top national finalists’ shortlist reviewed by industry stalwarts Angela Bloomfield, Thomas Coppell, Annabel Keane, Ben Powdrell and Tatum Warren-Ngata. The judges were unanimous in their praise for Iñaki’s entry:
Tatum Warren-Ngata – "I was very impressed by the high production quality in every single regard."
Thomas Coppell – "Beautifully crafted, considered, and so cinematic. A haunting story that really pulls you in and gives the vibes of 90s dark fantasies."
The runner-up short film winners are:
Last Pin Standing, submitted by Isaac Uammuang, Macleans College, Auckland
Fish Bowl, submitted by Ivy Feng, Macleans College, Auckland
The winners receive a cash prize of $2000 (1st Place), $1000 (2nd Place), and $500 (3rd Place) for their respective teams. Films for the 2024 challenge could be submitted in the narrative short film, documentary, or music video sections, each with its own prize.
The complete list of winners can be found here, with all films available on OnScreen’s YouTube channel from early December.
With 204 films completed by students from over 65 schools across Aotearoa, the passion and dedication of the students to complete their projects was evident throughout. Congratulations, and thanks to all who entered!
OnScreen will return for 2025, with registration dates to be announced in the new year.
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