A 12-year-old award-winning filmmaker and scriptwriter received a woolshed full of applause at the annual Bannockburn Arts Festival exhibition on Friday night (October 7).

Part time Bannockburn resident Ben Young showed his film ‘CRASH’ at the exhibition's opening night to more than 100 art enthusiasts in the Cairnmuir Station woolshed. 

The film was shot in the Bannockburn sluicings and alongside Lake Dunstan. It features family (Ben’s sister and cousin), friends and neighbours of his aunty (she has a home in Bannockburn; where Ben spends a lot of time).

Crash, set in the 1930s, won an award for excellence in the IndieFest film awards in the USA and reached the semi finals in the international section of the Australian Independent Film Festival. 

Ben made the three minute long movie to enter it into the International Youth Silent Film Festival, and films that make the finals for this will be notified early next month.

Like many of the other artists in the exhibition Ben drew inspiration from Central’s iconic landscape.

“The idea for the movie was from a car crashed off the side of a cliff that I saw down here.”

He said the historic stone cottages and the sluicings were another inspiration to him.

View a trailer of the film here:

He filmed Crash last year after getting into script writing, theatre, film with the encouragement of his mum, Kate. He had to borrow camera equipment from her and she also taught him how to use it to shoot Crash.

Ponsonby Intermediate student Ben joined two other guest artists in the exhibition, Wānaka painter Susie Ruddenklau and Wellington painter Janet Andrews. 

Sixteen local Bannockburn artists showed works of different mediums including pottery, watercolour, drawings, photography, wire sculpture, mixed media paintings, and prints, many of which were for sale.

New exhibitors were guitar maker David Olds, photographer Martin Anderson, photographer Rowan Klevstul and painter Christine O’Donnell.

Bannockburn arts committee member Gillian Watt welcomed attendees to the exhibition and paid her respects to Queen Elizabeth II using a line borrowed from one of her speeches.

Gillian opens the event; a chance for locals to meet the artists, share stories behind the art works and have a glass of Bannockburn wine and nibbles

“After Covid-19 and cancellation last year…it is great to be here. We will be with our friends again… we will be together again.”

Poet Sam Duckor-Jones read out two poems at the opening

Handmade guitars from spruce, maple and limba timber by David Olds

Bannockburn’s Jenni Barker wire sculpture fairies were a part of the exhibition

The exhibition was the conclusion of a week-long workshops for the ‘Bannockburn Arts School’ led by local artists covering family history writing, sculpting, watercolour painting, wine masterclasses, cooking, life drawing and poetry. 

Bannockburn Arts School is run by a group of volunteers and is a subcommittee of charity organisation Arts Central. It has been running for more than 11 years and has helped many local artists and Bannockburn gain recognition as a creative hotspot.