Lights! Camera! Action! Celebrate!

Western Academy of Beijing earned three awards at a nationwide film competition on November 22 at the prestigious Beijing Hotel.

Students around China submitted more than 600 total films to the 2015 First China National Teenage and Children Micro Film Competition, themed "Positive Energy."

WAB students who won the WAB Identity Film Festival last April had their films submitted for consideration. Alumni Sebastian Ochoa Mendoza and Camila Tamayo won second prize for their film, "One." Alumni Ryan Lack took home the third prize for "Who Am I." And WAB as a whole earned the Best Organizer prize, given to schools that do an exceptional job of inspiring students to make films for the competition. This was the first time an international school was invited to participate in the annual event.

"This is yet another spectacular first for our school," said WAB's Video Coordinator Greg MacIsaac, who attended the event along with HS Principal Melanie Vrba, Deputy Director John D'Arcy, China Studies Department Director Wang Wenjing, friends and family of the winning students, as well as several industry professionals and movie stars.

"Our students' participation and awards are so meaningful for WAB's film students because it shows that the films they are making are significant and impactful in a much larger, national and global context," Greg added.

WAB's participation in this event came about as a collaborative effort between the school's dedicated China Studies Department and pioneering Video Department, which together offered the students an opportunity to engage with our host country in such a unique fashion.

The partnership will continue in the future, allowing the 2016 Identity Film Festival winners to enter their films into next year's competition.