SikhNet Youth Online Film Festival 2010
SikhNet is proud to have hosted our fifth SikhNet Youth Film Festival. This year, we received films from all over the world including USA, Canada, UK, India, Thailand, Australia, Italy and New Zealand. All in all, we received 34 films including dramas, comedies, documentaries, and even animation. The films ranged from the esoteric to the political and social. Some of them pointed out hypocrisies, and some gave moving examples of what it means to be a Sikh. Every person that submitted a film has taken their own free time to create a film that not only entertains but also educates and inspires as well. Each director is contributing to an online collection of Sikh media, and this is a tremendous Seva in itself. In these modern times we are bombarded by all kinds of media, and there are very few places that can provide inspiring Sikh created and Sikh related media. That is the real goal of the SikhNet Youth Film Festival, and because of that, every one of our young film directors is a winner.
The judging process was difficult because it can be hard, for example, to compare a comedy to a drama. Some films obviously took a lot of time to create andt others might be simpler yet still contain a powerful message. There is no absolute way to decide which film is better than another, but we had to come up with prize winners and our panel of judges were influenced mostly by originality and by message. So... here we go... we are proud to announce the 2010 ‘prize’ winners!
JUNIOR DIVISION (17 years old and under)
* First Place - "Iz yu ignant bout Sikhi?" by 16 year olds Harnek Singh and Rasna Kaur from Troy, Michigan, USA. They made an entertaining comedy documentary in which they approached random people (and animals!) and educated them about Sikhism.
* Second Place - "The Golden Armor" by 13 and 10 year olds Ajaypal and Manpal Singh from Fremont, CA, USA. Rajbir Singh prefers playing video games to doing anything Sikhi related, but through a clever scheme created by his brother and friends he finds his way back to Sikhi.
* Third Place - "Why Be Sikh?" by 17 year old Naanak Singh Sodhi from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Naanak Singh shares with us his views about Sikhi, and clears up some misconceptions with humorous interludes by some "confused Sikh youth."
INTERMEDIATE DIVISION (18 – 25 years old)
* First Place - "The Forgotten Truth" by 23 year old Satdeep Singh from Ludhiana, Punjab, India. A beautiful story about a man looking for a way out of his pain, and how he learns to appreciate his blessings with the help of a local Gursikh.
* Second Place - "Kiv Sachiaara..." by 24 year old Piarpreet Kaur from West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. She takes us through a deep personal experience of feeling empty and of living our life based on the expectations of others, and finding our way back to the Guru.
* Third Place - "Are You Bunty?" by 25 year old Daman Preet Singh from Pune, Maharashtra, India. The story of Bunty who is looking for some shortcuts, but finds out that shortcuts won’t work in the spiritual life.
* Also awarded in the Intermediate Division for Honorable Mention: For Best Acting (most believable acting performance): "Rehni Rehe Soi Sikh Mera" by 25 year olds Gagandeep Kaur, Raminder Singh, and Randeep Singh (SOCH) from Hyderabad, AP, India. We applaud the performances in this video because they were very compelling and the film dealt with very realistic topics.
SENIOR DIVISION (26 or older)
* First Place - "The Appraisal" by Sukhvinder Pal Singh (SOCH group) from Hyderabad, AP, India. ‘Garry’ always does well on his professional job appraisals, but how well will he do on a spiritual appraisal?
* Second Place - "Oopar Sach Achar" by Kamaljit Singh from Jagraon, Punjab, India. Sewapreet Singh comes across an expensive mobile phone and wants to keep it for himself. See what happens.
* Third Place – "Everyday is a Miracle" by Dr. Savi & Rohin Arora from Middlesex, UK. Watch this simple, peaceful film inspired by a poem about gratitude.
Thank you to ALL of the 2010 directors for your hard work and your creativity!
Thank you to our SikhNet Film Festival 2010 Platinum Sponsor!
and to our 2010 Film Festival Partners
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