Student films represent NZ on YouTube

Student films compete in global YouTube festival

Auckland, 12 June 2012: Media Design School is proud to announce that student short films Dr Grordborts Presents: The Deadliest Game and Das Tub have been selected for the YouTube Your Film Festival [http://www.youtube.com/yourfilmfestival] channel and is calling on Kiwis to boost the films into the final 10.

Selected out of thousands of entries, the films are two of 50 semi-finalists in the hotly contested global festival that kicked off June 11.

Now it is up to fans to decide which films will make the final cut and screen at the globally renowned 2012 Venice Film Festival, where a grand jury including director Ridley Scott will decide on the overall winner.

Media Design School Senior Lecturer James Cunningham said it was phenomenal to have not one but two finalists in such a high profile festival.

"I am very proud of the work the students were able to pull off in such a short time span. Now we need to get the country behind us and get us into Venice!"

Both films were created by advanced 3D students during the final stages of their qualification with minimal funding and the support of industry contacts.

Dr Grordbort Presents: The Deadliest Game (2011) is based on the sci-fi world created by Greg Broadmore, senior concept artist at Weta. The great hunter Lord Broadforce and his loyal manservant Caruthers have returned to Venus to gather more exotic wildlife specimens, much to the horror of reporter Miss Middlesworth.

Meanwhile, Das Tub (2010) is a submarine "drama" starring Craig Hall (Outrageous Fortune, 30 Days of Night and King Kong). The crew of a German U-boat find themselves on a collision course with objects stranger than they can fathom.

Please visit [http://www.youtube.com/yourfilmfestival] to view the films and vote.