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The Ha Noi-Amsterdam school has beaten five other secondary schools to win first prize in a movie making competition organised by technology giant Panasonic.
The Ha Noi-Amsterdam team took first prize for their their film One New Message.
The Kids Witness News contest accepted five-minute films entered by Vietnamese students aged between 10 and 15. The themes for the movies this year were communication and ecology.
The second prize went to the Wellspring International School for The Bodyguard and the third prize was awarded to Marie Curie Secondary School for their entry Light Pollution. Phan Chu Trinh's Danger from Water Spinach was awarded the best documentary.
The winning film, titled One New Message, tells the story of a group of people (including students and teachers, lovers, and a mother and son) who use mobile phones to communicate with each other rather than the traditional oral mode of communication. The film presents its theme in a fun and natural way, delivering a clear message that if people totally depend on information technology then they will become ironically less sociable.
"It is necessary to use language in daily communication as it will always be the best way to express our emotions and feelings," said Nguyen Hong Lien, the film's director and leader of the winning team.
"We came up with the idea after becoming aware of so many people predominantly using mobile phones to communicate with each other. We just want to send a message that ‘don't let messages control your life'."
It took the team two months of their summer holidays to complete the film. Previously they had attended a short movie making course to prepare them for the project.
The global Kids Witness News competition began in 2004, and Panasonic launched the Vietnamese version of the competition in 2006. The students had to make completely original films using the equipment provided.
The programme was designed to help them improve their skills using cameras and editing software, as well as their ability to work in a team environment.
"We feel much more confident when talking and working in our own group as well as with other teams," said Lien.
"We also got chance to play different roles in the project – from filming to directing to casting the film."
A member of the jury, lecturer Nguyen Quynh Trang of the Ha Noi Academy of Theatre and Cinema, said, "Making a short film was not simply an opportunity for the students to play a game. This was really hard work, requiring the young amateur film makers to show their creativity, enthusiasm, hard-work, patience, solidarity and, essentially, teamwork."
"We would like to create an interesting recreation activity for students. This is also an educational programme for the future generation to develop in this era of information technology," said Wakita Shinichi, general director of Panasonic Viet Nam, at the awards ceremony yesterday.
The Ha Noi-Amsterdam team will join six teams from Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in the Asia Pacific Regional contest. This year, the regional award ceremony in December will be held in Viet Nam.
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