Young Minds Digital Times Film Competition Winners Announced

The Young Minds Digital Times Film Competition is pleased to announce the Grand Prize Winners in our second annual film competition. Student Andy Wood from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Wash., won the Grand Prize in the Young Filmmakers "Doing Good" track for his public service announcement, Education Proclamation . Wood drew attention to Converge magazine and Project Tomorrow's collaboration focused on entreating public and elected officials to hear what students have to say about their rights to a 21st-century education.

In the Young Filmmakers Freeform Track, the avant-garde short film, Tilt, by Dennis Walker of Armwood High School in Seffner, Fla., claimed our second Grand Prize. Walker's surreal short film caught our judges' attention, particularly award-winning entertainer and philanthropist Ivy Koehler.

"I literally laughed out loud!" he said. "You accomplished the illusion you were reaching! Great work."

The final judging panel consisted of 15 professional judges knowledgeable about filmmaking and youth culture. The judges were unanimously impressed by the films they viewed and hoped participants would continue to seek out opportunities to learn and improve their filmmaking. The competition also announced eight additional Category Winners and Judge's Choice Awards. The winning filmmakers represent nine different schools and were joined by over 730 other individuals throughout the competition's process.

"Today's tech savvy students are eager to explore what this innovative competition has to offer, said competition director Jaclyn Bell of OneSeventeen Media. "They want a venue to share their ideas, showcase their work and tell their stories — what better media than film? The tools are already at students' fingertips; we just need to show them how to use them responsibly. The Young Minds Digital Times competition fosters an interest in promoting social good, and uses film to give today's youth a voice to reach the masses. We are incredibly proud of all the young people that participated in our contest, and we are excited to expand the competition for young filmmakers next year. We hope they will choose to join us again."