Porirua pride wins award
Talented teens were celebrated at a youth awards evening hosted by the Youth Action Group on Wednesday, May 23.
More than 150 people gathered at Pataka to see mayor Nick Leggett award prizes and scholarships to Porirua’s young movers and shakers.
Victoria University architecture student Elyjana Roach, 18, won YAG’s short film competition with her film Porirua City, My City.
Judges Tony Sutorius and Briar Grace-Smith said Elyjana’s images built a real sense of community, which was strengthened by lyrical commentary and effective music.
Former Tawa College student Elyjana, who lives in Ascot Park, filmed her entry over a single day while babysitting her sister, she told Kapi-Mana News. She then spent five hours editing the footage.
Her aim was to capture new perspectives of Porirua without being too cheesy, she said.
‘‘I wanted to capture Porirua in a different light, so people would be proud to say that they live there,’’ she said.
Elyjana plans to spend her $500 prize on a proper camera – she filmed her winning entry on a Single Lens Reflex camera. She has also been offered the chance to collaborate on a film with judge and filmmaker Mr Sutorius.
Eleven- year- olds Kian Knight, Isaac Stevenson and Dan Bain were runners-up with an energetic entry in which the trio filmed their travels around the city.
Seven $300 scholarships were also dished out at the awards evening.
They went to Tawa Intermediate softballer Tyler Smith, 12, Brandon Intermediate saxophonists Nooroa Faraimo and Jaseng Lah Pai, both 12, and Las Vegas-bound basketballer Sariah Penese, 12.
Mana College deputy head girl Georgia Flint will put her leadership award towards a bachelor of sport and exercise degree at Massey University next year, while Whitby 14-year-old Sara Malo-Siolo will buy video software for community outreach projects.
Aotea College 15-year-old Susannah Williams won a special YAG prize for dedication, which she will use for a school trip to Cambodia and Vietnam this December.
The six-strong Aotearoa Whiti Te Ra Boys Waka Ama Team are travelling to the World Waka Ama Spirit championships in Calgary, Canada, this August and will use their $300 scholarship to buy travel uniforms.