In front of a packed house on Friday night, John Charman announced the winner of the 2011 Charman Prize as Andrew Stevenson with his documentary film “Where the Whales Sing”.
The story behind Andrew’s film is remarkable; three years ago he embarked on what seemed like an interesting and challenging project – to film the North Atlantic humpback whales underwater in the middle of their mid-ocean migratory crossings. The humpback whales have since become an overriding passion, and with his daughter Elsa he takes us on their journey of discovery. This award winning film (Best Emerging Underwater Filmmaker – BLUE Ocean Film Festival 2010) is the first time a documentary film has been chosen as a winner in the Charman Prize, and the decision was a unanimous one by the judging panel. One of the judge’s comments summed up why they chose this as the winner: “This film is an incredible achievement! Not only in its message, but more importantly in it’s relevance to Bermuda’s past, present and future. Sensitively presented, beautifully filmed and edited, it is engaging, charming, informative, AND gorgeously composed”. If you haven’t had a chance to see it yet, you must get hold of a copy! We will be doing screenings at the museum at future dates (stay tuned to our website) and also sell the DVDs for $20.
Other winners included:
Distinctive and Convincing Style – Gavin Djata Smith, “Bermuda Through the Eyes of the Young, Black Male”
Use of Material – David Mitchell, “Bermuda Cedar Chest on Stand”
Design and Composition – Graham Foster, “Return to Rainbow Country”
Source of Inspiration – Jacqueline Alma, “Janel with Cedar”
12 honorable-mention prizes of $100 were also awarded to the artists that embodied strong elements of each of the four criteria:
Distinctive and Convincing Style – Lloyd Webbe, Nick Minugh, Robert Bassett
Use of Material – April Dawn Branco, Vaughan Evans, Geralyn Counsell
Design and Composition – Sharon Wilson, Scott Hill, Libby Cook-Toppan
Source of Inspiration – Scott Stallard, Althea Overbey, Jonah Jones
Comments from those who have seen the show have been overwhelmingly positive, with praise for the abundance of local talent on the island, although there have been some questions of a movie being chosen as the winner. Let us know your thoughts – art is meant to promote discussion so share your views, we’d love to hear them!!
