Students at Kamo High School in Whangārei wanted to leave a legacy item for their school, and rest assured, they achieved that plus more.
The teens won the animation section for their short film at the international Re-generation Youth Festival, as well as bringing school peers closer through shared cultural narratives.
The short film about sustainability, called Change is Now, is changing the future for some year 13 students from Kamo High School.
"We put all of our effort into it and to see the fruits of our labour come to fruition, it's just incredible," said animation student Alex Clendon.
The one-and-a-half minute animation took them two school terms to complete. Ngāpuhi descendant Alex Clendon said they weaved the story of Polynesian navigator Kupe into their film because a school survey found that students wanted to learn more about their Māoritanga and about Māori narratives from the area.
"We just took initiative really and decided that this was what we needed to do to increase student knowledge, build that connection back up again, and give back to the community," Clendon said.
And it's resonated well beyond their community - the project claimed first prize for the animation award at the Re-generation Youth Festival held in Melbourne.
Digital technologies teacher Mark Turton said he's proud of his students' hard mahi despite their limited computer hardware.
"They didn't do it for any awards, they wanted to do it to get a message across," he said.
It's a project that could steer them into a valuable career since experienced animators and digital artists are in high demand in Aotearoa.
"I think it's a nice environment to work in. It's fun and creative," said animation student Sean Pivac.
Clendon said he loves expressing his creativity through computer digital technologies.
Using technologies to express their own stories from the past and present that find an audience around the world.
