Pritchard climbing to the top with silent film
Napier filmmaker gains first place at the International Youth Silent Film Festival
Ayoung Napier filmmaker has conquered the “Everest of the silent filmmaking world” by winning first place at the International Youth Silent Film Festival (IYSFF) Global Awards 2022.
Dylan Pritchard’s animated short film The Climb won first place at this year’s Global Awards held recently. Traditionally, finalists from throughout the world attend the awards held at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Oregon, US, but due to the Covid pandemic, this year’s ceremony was streamed online via YouTube.
The IYSFF challenges young filmmakers, aged 20 and under, from across the United States, Europe, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Aotearoa New Zealand to create a three-minute silent film, set to one of 10 musical scores composed specifically for the festival by award-winning organist Nathan Avakian.
Pritchard, 19, secured his spot at the Global Awards after his film, about a young mountaineer who sets off to conquer her dream but comes across some personal struggles along the way, won second place in the IYSFF New Zealand National Awards Final 2021 held in November.
“Taking part in the IYSFF was a lot of fun, the whole process from the idea to the storyboarding, animating, editing and finally to the finished product was a blast!
“Animating a full video like this can be painstaking and tedious, but I knew the idea had to come to life and that thought fuelled me through the many hours working on The Climb.
“I would also like to thank my dad, Lee, for always pushing me to finish this project when sometimes I would get a little bit lazy in the process. He has a little cameo at the 40-second mark in the taxi.”
Judging this year’s Global Awards were celebrity jurors, X Men and
Transformers producer Tom Desanto,
Star Trek Deep Space 9, For All Mankind, and Grimm producer Steve Oster, and IYSFF Global Awards 2021 winner and Ohio University film student Sam Brandes.
The jurors praised Pritchard for his animation skills, the visual aesthetic he achieved in The Climb that gave it an “epic feel”, and his ability to produce an animated film that was highly technical but still maintained the “emotional beats” crucial to the film’s story.
“The Climb is an amazing piece of work and the fact that one person did all of it, that kind of blows my mind. I know how hard animation can be when you’re trying to get emotion, but Dylan accomplished so much heart and so much technical finesse in that film. I’m really looking forward to what he does next,” said Desanto.
The IYSFF was founded in 2009 by American philanthropist Jon “JP” Palanuk, who said he was extremely impressed hearing the critiques of Pritchard’s film from this year’s celebrity jurors.
“These industry professionals understand better than I what it took to create his film. The beauty and craftsmanship, the emotion and execution are truly stunning. Dylan and New Zealand can be very proud.”
Also representing Aotearoa New Zealand at this year’s Global Awards was Tauranga filmmaker and IYSFF NZ National Awards 2021 first-place winner Asher Wadsworth and her film Insomnia.
Wadsworth, 18, said she enjoyed her IYSFF experience, and while she didn’t win higher honours at the Global Awards, she included her film Insomnia in her successful application to the Media Design School in Auckland where she is now studying 3D animation as part of a Bachelor of Art and Design.
“Silent films aren’t really appreciated much in the film industry now, so creating a film that blends the modern and traditional is an awesome challenge for any filmmaker. The IYSFF music is just the right length to create a story without it seeming like an impossible task and creating a film with friends is the best!”
Pritchard also loved his IYSFF journey and believes all young Kiwi filmmakers with a passion for filmmaking and storytelling should seriously consider entering the IYSFF competition.
“I would highly recommend getting together with your mates and coming up with something to enter into this competition. Some really amazing stuff can come from some creative minds co-operating on projects like these.”
The IYSFF made its Aotearoa New Zealand debut at Baycourt Community & Arts Centre in Tauranga back in 2016. Since then, two Kiwi films have won first place at the Global Awards — including Overexposed by former Lynfield College students Harry Ashley Raymond Feng and Shamir Sarif in 2019.
Baycourt manager Reena Snook says Kiwi filmmakers have a strong reputation in the IYSFF, and she not only applauded Dylan for his win, but welcomed him into the Aotearoa New Zealand pantheon of IYSFF international winners.
“Congratulations Dylan, we’re over the moon with your win on the international stage.
“The Climb is an amazing piece of filmmaking and storytelling, and all of your hard work, effort and creativity has truly paid off,” said Snook.
“This latest win at the Global Awards just confirms that the future of filmmaking in Aotearoa New Zealand is brighter and stronger than ever.
“I definitely recommend keeping an eye on Dylan because this is a potential Oscar winner of the future.”
● See The Climb here: youtu.be/G7Wef7-Tcb0
The Climb is an amazing piece of work and the fact that one person did all of it, that kind of blows my mind. Tom Desanto