After an overwhelming response from filmmakers across 33 countries, we are delighted to announce that ‘Moonwalk’ by Sven Harding (left) is the winner of sH2Orts, our water-themed short-film competition in partnership with WaterAid. Congratulations!
Harding’s winning film from South Africa highlights how every day, women and children collectively walk sixteen-times the distance to the moon and back to fetch clean water. Harding uses excerpts from NASA space missions as the soundtrack to the short, whilst the images focus on the distance walked by a young girl. The judges noted the film for its flair and beautifully crafted shots, with judge Hugh Bonneville praising the short for its “Compelling juxtaposition of mankind’s success in space versus his failure on earth”.
With films from Nepal to Brazil and topics from Ebola to aquaponics, the competition has been a roaring success with a wide range of subjects covered and a truly global reach; the shortlisted films received over 60,000 online views worldwide! See the winning film below:
The shortlisted films were assessed by an esteemed judging panel, comprising of Indian film director and actor Shekhar Kapur; British director and filmmaker Philip Bloom; British Director Gurinder Chadha; Nigerian filmmaker Jeta Amata; Head of Documentaries at the Guardian, Charlie Philips; and of course, Downton Abbey star and WaterAid Ambassador Hugh Bonneville.
Harding has been awarded a Fuji XT 1 with a XF18-135mm lens and a filmmaking masterclass with BAFTA-nominated Director Shekhar Kapur.
The Runners-Up and People’s Choice Award
It was a close call but congratulations go to our three runners up. These were:
- ‘Recovery’, a music video by Josta Hopps in Sierra Leone, which is “very cool with a very clear message” about the importance of clean water in the fight against Ebola.
- ‘Joe’s Morning’ by 11-year-old Indie Mark from the UK. “An innovative film with a strong message” featuring a Lego man called Joe who faces a challenging morning without water.
- ‘Right to Water’ produced by Sohel Rana from Bangladesh and filmed with a hidden camera. It shows the challenges in collecting water whilst “delivering a powerful message through its sheer observation of an everyday idea of life”.
Well done also to Gaurav Dhwaj Khadka from Nepal, who managed to acquire more than 27,000 views in 3 weeks for his brilliant entry Paani (Water), making it the winner of the People’s Choice Award.
The runners up will each receive a Fuji X100S whilst Khadka will receive a Fuji X Pro 1 with 18-55 mm lens and a storytelling masterclass with WorldView.
Our thanks to Fujifilm who have generously supplied the cameras for the winning and runner-up prizes.
sH2Orts– Take two
This isn’t the end of the sH2Orts film competition. WaterAid and WorldView are now inviting established filmmakers to pitch story ideas for the chance to be awarded a grant of up to £3,000 to make a documentary film, in time for World Water Day 2016. Applications will open on April 6 2015! More details coming soon…
The global water crisis is one of the greatest challenges facing us today, but we know there are inspirational people who are taking the future of water into their own hands. We want to hear and share their stories.
Find out more at www.wateraid.org/sh2orts.