[Video] D'Oscars 2021: And The Winner Is...

On Friday 23 April our Junior School was transformed into a cinematic universe as the annual D'Oscars (Dulwich Oscars) student film festival returned after last year's COVID hiatus. Instead of the single Grand Ceremony of years past, this year D'Oscars featured film festival style screenings in classrooms, allowing the students the opportunity to see their peers' work.

Under the theme of We can be heroes, just for one day, 120 videos were submitted by our Junior School student film teams. The judging was carried out by celebrity actor Zhang Guoli. Zhang Guoli is one of the most recognisable faces in Chinese film and television, having acted in hundreds of movies and TV shows over the course of his four-decade career. We wish to thank him for generously giving his time to help out the next generation of young filmmakers.

Let's hear from Zhang Guoli himself his thoughts on this year's D'Oscars films:

Zhang Guoli's pick for the winning film was "Who Is the Real Hero?", selected based on its strong narrative and impactful ending. He made special mention of the editing which uses reverse and time-lapse techniques to enrich the aesthetics of the work. In addition, he says, the acting is remarkable; high praise from one of China's top actors!

See "Who Is the Real Hero?" below:

All D'Oscars films are student-led and student-created. Below is one of the winning student films - "M.A.S.K" - which re-imagines a day in the life of a doctor during COVID. Amazing stuff!

Says Simon Underhill, Deputy Head of the Junior School:

"The D’Oscars 2021 Film Festival was a day to be remembered! Seeing the older Year 5 & Year 6 students collaborate with the younger Year 3 & Year 4 students was fantastic to witness. There were so many creative ideas and the students found real joy in sharing their knowledge of film techniques. The feedback from students and teachers about the new film festival style format has been overwhelmingly positive! I’m delighted that despite the challenges of the year the students got to celebrate their great works."

Below are a few photos of the festivities on campus:

Congratulations to our Junior School students for another ground-breaking D'Oscars!