The outstanding quality of Australia’s science and factual filmmakers was on display in Brisbane as the SCINEMA Festival of Science Film announced the winners of its 2008 Festival last night.

“We were thrilled by the high calibre of films we had to choose from this year” Festival Jury Chairman Wilson da Silva said as he announced the winners at a rooftop party at Queensland Museum South Bank to celebrate the close of a successful National Science Week

Scottish film "The Colour of Sound" took out Best Film “for the engaging way it conveyed a whole tapestry of science,” da Silva said to the crowd.

Local filmmaker Vickie Guest was on-hand to accept her award for organ-donation doco "Over My Dead Body," and told Festival guests she was thrilled to have her film recognized.

Australia’s ABC TV took out three categories in the internationally competitive film festival, which received over 150 entries from 31 countries.

ABC producer Richard Smith was announced as Best Director for his study of the journey of oil from its birth in the prehistoric past to its role in our greenhouse future, "Crude," while Rory McGuinness took Best Cinematography for "The Big Blue" and producer/director Klaus Toft took the gong for Best Science Television for "Thunderheads."

Interestingly, "The Big Blue" and "Thunderheads" were among the final films produced by ABC TV’s Natural History Unit, which was closed by the national broadcaster earlier this year.

A young Victorian filmmaker, Kristian Lang, took Best Student Film for his 3rd grade class project "Photosynthesis: How it works."

Aside from Kristian’s age and aside from the film’s technical assurance, SCINEMA Festival Director Cris Kennedy announced to the party while presenting Kristian with his trophy, “the film got to the essence of successful science communication, which is to condense complex issues into a vehicle that explains science simply, and in a fun way.”

Kristian’s proud parents were on hand to watch the ten-year-old Ascot Vale Primary School student receive his first international film festival prize.

Other Festival winners included Spain’s Pablo Garcia-Lopez take Best Animation or Experimental for his short film "Expedition to the Brain," while the US production "The Brain Fitness Program" took the Award for Technical Merit.

The awards night brought the 2008 SCINEMA Festival of Science Film to a close. In its eighth year, the festival screened in 150 cities across Australia, and a few in India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

A partnership between CSIRO and Cosmos Magazine, the Festival runs under the support of the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science and Research through its National Science Week program.

Festival winners were:

Best Film – "The Colour of Sound" (Scotland)
Producer: Karen Smyth
Director: Vince Hunter for La Belle Allee Productions
An exploration of the crucial role sound plays in our lives
What the Jury said: This was a beautifully shot, contemporary and relevant study of a whole tapestry of science, that was engagingly told.
Media contact: Karen Smyth on info@labelleallee.com

Best Director – Richard Smith for "Crude" (Australia) produced for ABC TV
Crude is the story of the incredible journey of oil, from its birth in the prehistoric past to its role in our greenhouse future.
What the Jury said: An ambitious ride through a spectrum of sciences, from history, palaeontology, geology and the atmospheric sciences, in a rollicking cauldron of sights and sounds.

Best Cinematography – Rory McGuinness for "The Big Blue"
Producer: Jeni Clevers for ABC TV
This blue-chip documentary reveals the secrets of the planet's largest living creature, the Blue Whale.
What the Jury said: A feast for the eyes focusing on one of our least-known treasures.

Best Experimental/Animation – "Expedition to the Brain" (Spain)
Producer & Director: Pablo Garcia-Lopez
An animated journey, using Cajal's original historical slides about the discovery of neurons.
What the Jury said: The film explored the human brain as a Fantastic Voyage into a microscopic world that touched on the history of neuroscience, with an individual style that owed a debt to be Cajal and Jules Verne.

Best Student Film – "Photosynthesis: How it works" (Victoria, Australia)
Producer and Director: Kristian Lang for Ascot Vale Primary School A simple look at how photosynthesis works, made for the filmmaker's 3rd grade class.
What the Jury said: Aside from Kristian’s age (10) and aside from the film’s technical assurance, the film got to the essence of successful science communication, which is to condense complex issues into a vehicle that explains science simply, and in a fun way.

Best Science Television – "Thunderheads" (Australia)
Producer & Director Klaus Toft for ABC TV
Thunderheads follows an intrepid group of storm-chasers into the heart of a thunder storm to look for the role clouds play in climate change.
What the Jury said: A film that gave you a sense for what science should be about – a quest, adventure, passion, perseverance and collaboration. This is what science television should be.

Award for Scientific Merit – "Brain Fitness Program" (USA)
Producer: Lennlee Keep
Director: Eli Brown for Santa Fe Productions
Based on the concept of neuroplasticy, the Brain Fitness Program shows the power of the brain to change, adapt and rewire itself.
What the Jury said: For tackling a very new area of neuroscience – a confident film that covered its science well and left you with a sense of hope.

Prix du Jury – "Over My Dead Body" (Australia)
Producer: Vickie Guest Director: Ian Walker for VizPoets
Stripped down to its sellable parts, the recycled human body can be repackaged and sold for around $200,000. Skin and bone form the dead are part of a new resources boom.
What the Jury said: This film tells a challenging and important story in an offbeat way that engages the viewer and conveys the importance of organ donation.