Five Mayo schools receive awards at the 11th FIS Film Festival

FIVE Mayo schools have received awards for excellence in filmmaking at the 11th FÍS Film Festival, which took place in the Helix, DCU, on November 3.

Presented by RTÉ star Sinead Kennedy, the awards were attended by over 800 people - including 700 primary school children from all over the country, their teachers and parents. This year’s very special guest was the Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan.

The Mayo schools were: Scoil Raifteirí, Castlebar; Kilocraun NS, Castlehill, Ballina; St. Attracta's NS, Lowpark, Charlestown; Behy NS, Ballina; and St. Patrick's NS, Cloonlyon, Charlestown.

With Bealach Glas, Scoil Raifteirí received the award for An Scannán is Fearr as Gaeilge. It's a documentary about the beautiful new cycling greenway through Castlebar.

Kilocraun NS's An Easter to Remember received the Centenaries Special Category Award for their film which dramatically and humorously reconstructs the Proclamation of the Republic from the GPO in 1916.

St. Attracta's NS, with their film Back in the Springtime, received the award for Outstanding Achievement in Costume. The film is about retired army officer Michael McGrath, documenting his time in the defence forces, where he participated in the funeral of American President John F. Kennedy.

With Runaway Circus, Behy NS received the award for Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack. The film is an ode to the silent era of filmmaking and features some classic cinematic themes.

Finally, St. Patrick's NS's We Will Remember Them won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary. It's a film that recognises the contribution of Charlestown’s unsung heroes of World War I, particularly the Tarpey brothers.

A total of 24 primary schools from across Ireland were awarded for filmmaking excellence in a wide variety of categories. Due to the high calibre of entries this year, 13 schools also received a highly commended award.

FÍS is an initiative of the Department of Education and Skills that is coordinated by PDST Technology in Education in collaboration with the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT).

The methodology for the FÍS Film Festival empowers teachers and children to explore the medium of film and digital media in the primary curriculum. FÍS helps develop many different areas of the primary curriculum and in particular develops active learning, creative thinking, language, imagination, collaborative learning and problem solving skills, as well as giving children hands-on experience of using technology as part of the filmmaking process.

For further information, log on to www.fisfilmproject.ie.