The Kents 2026 Celebrates Excellence in Student Filmmaking

From horror and science fiction to coming-of-age drama, documentary and animation, the quality and range of student filmmaking was on show at The Kents 2026, the College’s annual showcase of student film and animation.

Held in the final week of Term 3, the evening brought students, families and friends together for a screening of this year’s work. Six films created for the 48-Hour Film Challenge opened the programme, followed by five animations, six Year 12 short films and six Year 13 short films. After the screenings, the audience cast their votes for their favourites before the Kents awards were presented. 

The programme spanned a wide range of genres and subject matter. At Year 12, Sof Lowe, Charlotte Albrecht and Ed Hirst’s The Woodman followed an innocent game that takes a terrifying turn when a young girl is dared to enter the woods after dark. The folk-horror production was named Best Year 12 Film and also received Best Year 12 Sound. 

Sophie Macky, Eva Sanderson and Hugo Walsh’s coming-of-age drama Undertone, exploring friendship and identity, received Best Year 12 Cinematography, while Sophie was recognised for Best Year 12 Performance in a Leading Role. Undertone also took the Year 12 Audience Choice Award.

Luka Purchase and Pieter Spencer’s thriller-horror Missing, centred on the search for a student who mysteriously disappears, received Best Year 12 Editing and Best Visual Effects in a Year 12 Film. Hunter Contantopoulos, Zachary Shen and Emmanuel Zhang’s action-comedy Double or Nothing, about a young secret agent tasked with taking down a rogue operative, received Best Year 12 Use of Genre Conventions and Best Creative Risks in a Year 12 Film. 

The Year 13 programme continued that variety. Jamie Cearns and Nikhil Govind’s horror/sci-fi production Dreamscape told the story of a lonely boy who finds comfort in a new piece of software, only to discover it may be more than it seems. It was named Best Year 13 Film and also received Best Visual Effects in a Year 13 Film. 

Ella Taylor, Tayla Bellingham and Gaby Lamb’s Molly followed its central character through a night she is unprepared for after an invitation to a popular girl’s party. The coming-of-age drama received Best Year 13 Cinematography and was voted the Year 13 Audience Choice. 

In Solis, Luka Urlich, Jake Newbould and Flynn West explored grief and finding a path forward through music following the death of a father. Luka received Best Performance in a Year 13 Film, while Gaby Lamb received Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Year 13 Film for her performance in the production. 

Katie Hannan, Lucy Greer and Loretta Reid’s Parallel explored a schoolgirl’s pursuit of perfection as Instagram begins to consume her reality. The film received Best Year 13 Screenplay and Best Year 13 Editing. 

Year 13 student Jarvis Cowper made history at The Kents with the award’s first podcast entry, the murder mystery, The Curious Case of Ravencreek Hall. His production received Best Year 13 Sound Design and the Year 13 Judges’ Wildcard Award.

Animation added another dimension to the programme. Vivien Shao’s Chop Sticks was named Best Animation Film, as well as receiving Best 2D Animation and Best Sound Design in an Animated Film. Amelie Gould-Pretorius received Best 3D Animation for Alice, Jazelle Sahay received Best Visual Effects in an Animated Film for Salvage, and Marley Tangata-Toa’s Ready Fight! received the Animated Film Judges Wildcard.

Across cinematography, editing, sound, visual effects, performance, screenplay, production design and animation, The Kents recognised the many disciplines involved in taking an idea from concept to screen. The evening also gave students the opportunity to share their work with family and friends before the award recipients stepped forward to collect their Kents.

Congratulations to all our 2026 Kents award recipients and to every student for their work, marking another impressive year of Media and Animation at the College.