Southern Institute of Technology graduate Jerry Westaway has won a section of an International Film Festival with his documentary-style short film, The Green Revolution.

The film won the monthly prize for ‘Best Student Short’ at the Changing Face International Film Festival in Australia.

Originally from Timaru, Jerry spent 2020 in Invercargill to complete his Graduate Diploma in Screen Art at SIT.

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In the process, he made and directed the documentary film, which centres around the international movement of School Climate Strikes, through the lens of what happened locally in Invercargill.

Jerry got in amongst it, attending a climate strike and this gave him the inspiration to make the film. 

He says at the time it really felt like something significant was happening. 

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"I felt like I was in the middle of history taking place," he says. 

Hundreds of people turned out in Invercargill, a city viewed as socially conservative, to make demands on climate action. On the same day, thousands were outside parliament.

Aware of the global significance of the subject, Jerry says it might be interesting to an international audience that the story takes place in the world's southernmost Commonwealth city.

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He respects the work of teenage environmental activist, Greta Thunberg with whom he has something in common – they both have Asperger's syndrome.

"..she calls it her superpower which is quite an empowering way to look at it. It gives a diverseness of opinion and view", Jerry says.

As with many projects during 2020, Covid did make things harder, climate strikes were cancelled and Jerry had to make compromises, but in the end it turned out better than he expected. 

"I'm quite proud of what I’ve done", he says.

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The film is officially selected into the film festival, as well as considered for nomination in the Annual Awards, held in November.

Jerry hopes to enter the film into more film festivals – he said most films have about a two-year lifespan for entry into this type of event.

Dr Kathryn McCully, Programme Manager, Creative Industries for School of Screen Arts, says it's a strength of SIT’s filmmaking programmes that students have the freedom to pursue their interests.

"Students have the opportunity to make the work they are passionate about, exploring concerns that matter to them," she says. 

"We are immensely proud to see Jerry’s work showcased and celebrated."

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Changing Face International Film Festival is in its fifth year and not only offers the usual annual film festival, but also bi-monthly online film festivals. 

It looks for diverse "thought-provoking, challenging, and engaging films, web series, and screenplays".

Jerry was the only SIT student in his year focusing on the documentary style. He hopes this will be the first of many successes.

"I hope this will be (my career), I’ve wanted to do filmmaking since I was twelve years old," he says.