Young Filmmakers Face Finals

Video production teams from West Oahu schools are looking good for the 2014 statewide ‘Olelo Youth Xchange Student Video Competition, with 10 of their entries selected as finalists.

The awards banquet May 5 at Ko Olina resort will present high-definition Sony digital video cameras to the winners in each of 37 categories. Organizers say that submissions this year have jumped 22 percent, making the 11th annual contest a hot commodity.

The ceremony itself will be shown in live cablecast from the Ihilani, where award-winning adult director Tim Savage will give the keynote address to tomorrow’s filmmakers. Savage is currently directing Under the Blood Red Sun in Hawaii.

Here’s the lineup of West finalists, selected in categories at each school level by judges who viewed their entries:

* Be A Jerk – Go Home by Kapolei High School
* Hawaii Meth Project – Meth, Not Even Once by Honowai Elementary; Addict by Waipahu High
* Mini Documentary – Images at War’s End by Kapolei High
* News – Be Alert … Accidents Hurt by Webling Elementary
* Peacemaker – A Walk with Chalk by Waipahu Elementary
* Public Service Announcement – Gender Roles Don’t Define Us by Ewa Makai Middle, Anti-Bully man by Kapolei High
* Short – This is Me by Waipahu High
* Traffic Safety – Guard Your Head: Wear a Helmet by Waipahu Elementary