Raglan’s Red Carpet event, the 4th RAFFA (Raglan Arts Film Festival Award) awards ceremony was on at the Raglan Old School Arts Centre on Saturday evening, the 22nd September. The awards celebrate Raglan Whaingaroa’s own filmmakers and actors. The sell-out red carpet event is a highlight of the Raglan calendar with local and national film makers attending. Guests arrived at the Old School courtyard along the red carpet with flood lights by provided by the Raglan Operational Support Unit. About 40 people attended the ceremony narrated by MC for the night, Ruth Port.
After refreshments and a buffet dinner provided by the Raglan Soccer Mums, the guests moved into the theatre room for a screening of the nominated films. And then it was time for the award winners to be announced.
The nominees and award winners were:
Best Editor:
Nominees: Maryann Tuao/Whiff Drawers, Micah Puklowski/Monochromacy, Turanga Kereopa/Darkness to Light and Skinny
WINNER: Turanga Kereopa for the music video ‘Skinny’ by Ariana
Best Soundtrack:
Nominees: Whiff Drawers, Monochromacy, Sky Whisperers Ranginui
WINNER: Aroha Yates-Smith for Sky Whisperers Ranginui
Best Music Video:
Nominees: Darkness to Light/NRG Rising, Skinny/Ariana, Silent Tears/Little Lapin, Journey/Cornerstone Roots
WINNER: Silent Tears by Little Lapin and Indie Productions
Best Documentary:
Nominees: Sky Whisperers Ranginui, Te Kumara, Art to Wear 2012
WINNER: Tuihana Bosch on behalf of Te Mauri Tau for Te Kumara
Best Environmental Film
Nominees: KASM by KASM, Sky Whisperers Ranginui
WINNER: KASM
Best Producer:
Nominees: Maryann Tuao/Whiff Drawers, Brian Ruawai/Journey, Tuihana Bosch/Te Kumara
WINNER: Brian Ruawai for Journey – Cornerstone Roots
Best Director
Nominees: Maryann Tuao/Whiff Drawers, Micah Puklowski/Monochromacy, Turanga Kereopa/Skinny
WINNER: Micah Puklowski for Monochromacy
Award Best Actress
Nominees: Athene Jensen/Whiff Drawers, Ariana Brunet, Tassanee Puklowski/Monochromacy
WINNER: Athene Jensen
Best Actor
Nominees: Reiki Ruawai for The Dump, Marten Ten Broek for Whiff Drawers
WINNER: Reiki Ruawai for The Dump
Award Cinematography
Nominees: Micah Puklowski/Monochromacy, Kathleen Gallagher/Sky Whisperers Ranginui, Maryann Tuao/Whiff Drawers, Juan Duazo/Art to Wear 2012
WINNER: Juan Duazo for Art to Wear 2012 for successfully capturing the enthusiasm and creativity of all the Art to Wear participants.
And the special awards:
Newcomer Award:
Billy Lee-Pope for filming of the 1st Grom Skateboard Competition
Creative Force Award:
The film festival panel wish to acknowledge Maryann Tuao of Groundswell Media for a productive 2012 year! Maryann has also during the year provided support, encouragement and mentored many local talents living here in Raglan towards developing their careers in the film industry.
International Film Award:
Goes to The Most Fun You Can Have Dying.
The film festival panel wished to recognise the difficulty of filming with a low budget and filming overseas. The bulk of the film is set in Europe, so Kirstin’s crew had to employ the number-eight wire mentality New Zealanders are famous for over the 10 days they spent shooting exterior shots on location. There was an interview with Kirstin where she said “We shot on five trains and one aeroplane, all illegally, – we would wait on the trains until nobody was looking, we’d put sentries at the end of carriages to make sure none of the official people were coming, and then we’d just quickly shoot”
Grand Prize Best Film Award:
Goes to Whiff Drawers, Groundswell Media for the tremendous effort to produce something of this quality in the 48 hours competition. Maryann managed to assemble a talented team to work together during the V48 Hours to produce Whiff Drawers which rivals teams of professional film makers who have been entering V48 hours for years – a real showcase for talent in Raglan!
The RAFFA awards were designed by Phil & Emily Meek from Surreal Steel. The award design captures the ‘Old School’ style of a film movie reel’
The Raglan Arts Film Festival Awards are organised by the Raglan Community Arts Council and sponsored by Creative Communities Waikato District with support from the Raglan Club, Flux Animation, V48 Hours Furious Film Making and Raglan Operational Support Unit.