National glory for Baylin NS at prestigious FÍS Film Awards

Pupils from St Ciaran's NS, Baylin were celebrating last Thursday afternoon after they were awarded a coveted prize at the 20th Annual FÍS Film Awards at The Helix, Dublin.

The Athlone school was among 23 winners from all across the country at the awards; picking up the 'Outstanding Achievement for Filmmaking Creativity' accolade for their short film entitled 'Reports from the Courts'.

Twenty-one pupils from the local school, under the guidance of teacher and the film's director and producer Declan Finn, were Westmeath's sole representatives at this year's awards, with the Baylin school only entering the competition for the first time this year.

To make the film, the school organised to use the courthouse in Mullingar, and Mr Finn said he was grateful to the courts service for allowing the pupils to avail of the premises.

The film itself is a humorous and entertaining account of Goldilocks being taken to court after being charged with breaking into the three bears' house, and standing trial in front of judge Snow White.

The films in contention for the FÍS awards were divided into several different categories. The awards ceremony was hosted by RTÉ’s Sinéad Kennedy and attended by the Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton.

David Smith, President of the Institute for Art, Design & Technology, Dún Laoghaire said the awards demonstrated the power of creativity in education.

“It gives young people the confidence to explore ideas, develop digital skills and tell meaningful stories through film. Seeing pupils from schools across Ireland celebrated on a national stage is a testament to the impact of this programme,” he said. The awards ceremony was captured and broadcast on the FÍS Film Awards website, and among the other categories were awards for acting, costume design, originality, storytelling and technical achievement. During the judging process, much of the criteria focused on aspects of film production including imagination and creativity, originality of the story, curricular relevance, literacy development, excellence in storytelling, and excellence in set and costume design, film direction and production, use of sound, acting, and cinematography.

This year’s very top award, the Aileen MacKeogh 20th FÍS Film of the Year, was presented to Saint Hugh’s National School, Kilmore, Dowra, Leitrim, for 'From Tullynaha to Muckadilla', a collaboratively created film exploring the historical story of Frank Forde, Australia’s Labour Prime Minister, and his family’s emigration from Leitrim, brought to life through an original song composed and performed by the pupils.