A film starring three young pupils from Al-Taqwa College in Truganina has received a prize at a prestigious festival.
Optism: A Tale of Unbreakable Friendship has been announced as winner of the Judge’s Choice School Documentary at the annual Focus on Ability Short Film Festival, which encourages entrants tell stories of people with a disability.
Ms Obayda Kannouj and Mr Pongky Nataatmaja, who compromise Al-Taqwa’s media department, focused on crafting a heartfelt story about grade three boys in the film.
The doco focuses on the friendship between Anthony, Arvin and Noor Dean, who help each other with autism and the challenges they face.
“The boys involved and their families along with their teachers, Mr Trish and Ms Kass, were so pleased with the results,” Mr Nataatmaja said.
“The story of the three boys had many in tears, it’s emotional on every level because ultimately, we all just want to be accepted for who we are and the video just captures that.”
Mr Nataatmaja said it was a “great achievement” for the college’s film to be selected as a winner at the festival, out of schools from across Australia and New Zealand that entered the event.
“We’d like to thank the stars in the video and their supportive families, and also to Nova Employment who have been running the film festival for 12 years to raise awareness of people with disabilities around the globe,” Mr Nataatmaja said.
The school has received multiple prizes at the festival in previous years, for other films.
