Winners Emerge in Tecno Camon 18 Short Film Challenge

Emma Okonji

The Tecno Camon 18 Short Film Challenge has been concluded, and winners emerged.
The Short Film Challenge, which was the result of a unique partnership between the TECNO and EbonyLife Creative Academy, saw the influx of numerous creatively produced short film entries from young filmmakers in the country.

Out of the many contestants, just 20 finalists were selected and only four took home the prizes at the CAMON 18 Short Film Awards Festival. The Awards festival took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos and it was a breathtaking moment for the contestants and invited guests.

The black tie event had celebrities, the finalists, brand personnel, media and other guests in attendance to witness a show that could have rivaled any entertainment awards event. There was excitement in the air as speculations were up as to which of the talents would win the 5 award categories. And with celebrityradio personality and actress, Folu Storms as host, speculations were soon turned to reality with the unveiling of the winners.

In his opening speech at the Camon 18 Short Film Awards Festival, the Marketing Manager, Tecno Nigeria, Attai Oguche, said: “Looking through the room, I can see that the creative industry is indeed filled with numerous talents waiting to creatively present African stories of strength, determination and more, to the world and Tecno is proud to be the brand responsible for making this happen for young filmmakers. We are equally honored to have partnered with the EbonyLife Creative Academy team to guide, screen and basically work together to provide these young filmmakers with this opportunity. The Tecno brand will not stop encouraging the youths to dream and take the steps towards achieving their dreams.”

Speaking for EbonyLife Creative Academy, the Head of School,Theart Korsten was elated to be part of the final ceremony and to see the finalists: “We are beginning to see that mobile filmmaking is the next big thing to happen in the creative industry. We already have some sets of brilliant filmmakers who have mastered the art of storytelling and cinematography. The industry is going to see a huge boom of filmmakers making film with their mobile phones in the next five years and I am happy that brands like Tecno are making devices that would help filmmakers make those dreams come true.” he said.

The Short Film Challenge promised cash and gift prizes as well as training opportunities with the EbonyLife Creative Academy to winners of the competition.

Four winners emerged from a total of five categories, as Yinusa Korede smiled home with the grand prize of N500,000 for winning the overall Best Short Film in his work, Flesh and Spirit. The Best Dramatic Short Film was also won by Yinusa A. Korede – Flesh and Spirit. The Best in Cinematography was won by Damilare Olalude – Outbreak. The Most Creative Use of CAMON 18 Premier’s Gimbal, was won by Chimereogo Nwoke – Muna, while the Best Visual Storytelling, was won by Owan Gilbert Ayiong – Zara.
The Camon18 Short Film Challenge ended on a high note with dining, music, networking among creative minds present at the Awards Festival.