Mount Aspiring College (MAC) students have taken out the national title for Showquest 2020 with their video entry ‘Nga Mea Iti’.

Showquest is a performing arts platform for schools to support schools and students from Years 1–13. The annual competition was cancelled because of COVID-19 restrictions, and Showquest on Screen was held instead. 

MAC students Cece Gardner, Luca Georgalli, Holly Gibson, Laura Neale, Isobel Smith, Jaimee Vink, Olly Thomas, Ollie Blyth, Kiera Gray and Siena Shotwell created a seven-minute self-filmed screen video.

It was initially inspired by the work of Massive Theatre, which drew on simple home resources during lockdown to create positive filmed performances. 

Watch ‘Nga Mea Iti’ here.

The students worked on noticing and appreciating the simple details of life while being confined to their home bubbles, they said. 

The video features many parts of Wanaka, including Lismore Park (pictured) and also won Best Use of Location Filming in the regional category.

"In a preoccupied world, sometimes the most important things are the simple, the beautiful and the present. Emerging from lockdown, we asked ourselves and people around us what they had noticed when everything stopped,” the MAC cultural committee said.

In the regional category, the MAC students also won categories Papatuanuku (Best Environmental Story), Magical Moment, Best Use of Location Filming, and Most Effective Use of Live Sound.

“This film is an organic response to capture our affiliation with our local environment and our appreciation for nga mea iti," the MAC cultural committee said.

Second place in the annual national competition went to St Mary’s College and third was Western Heights High School.

PHOTOS: MAC