The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) has announced the winners of the 2010 national Screen It competition, this year addressing Australian students' concerns about the environment.

School-aged filmmakers from around the country have exercised their creativity to create films responding to this year's theme - The Environment: Who Cares? - intended as a trigger for students and teachers to investigate environmental issues while learning filmmaking techniques along the way.

The competition attracted 256 entries by over 940 students nationwide across the categories of live-action films, computer games and animations.

ACMI's Screen Education Manager Brett McLennan says that ACMI is fostering a new generation of young filmmakers through Screen It, uncovering talented filmmakers as well as some passionate environmental crusaders.

"Screen It's 2010 theme has been designed to resonate with Australian students, particularly with their concern about the state of the environment and global sustainability issues and coincides with the International Year of Biodiversity, declared by the United Nations," he said.

"This year, we've not only found the next generation of creative, innovative students who are able to produce and manipulate digital media in powerful and evocative ways, but they've embraced the theme investigating everything from litter and recycling to carbon dioxide and forestry."

Entries represented diverse parts of Australia – from Glencoe in South Australia to Toowoomba in Queensland; Wynyard in Tasmania to Cabramatta in New South Wales; Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory to Endeavour Hills in Victoria.

For the third year in a row, the most popular categories were Primary Animation and Secondary Live Action, indicating a great ability among students to harness technology, particularly at a primary level.

The prize for Best Primary Animation was awarded to Cara Thomas, a grade 4 student from Carey Baptist Grammar School in Kew, Victoria, for her astonishing clay animation, Control Your Carbon Dioxide, explaining the effects of CO2 on the earth. Best Primary Live Action Film went to a grade 4 and 5 class from Poowong Consolidated School in Poowong, Victoria, for their work One World, which features an original song of the same name performed by the students. Best Primary Computer Game went to a group of four grade 5 and 6 students from Auburn Primary School in East Hawthorn, Victoria for Bins vs. Rubbish, in which they programmed bins to battle with on-coming litter.

A pair of year 9 students from Parramatta Marist College in Westmead, NSW won Best Secondary Animation for their work Future. The most competitive category in this year's competition, Best Secondary Live Action Film, went to an independent entry Andreas Stoffel, a year 7 student from Halls Gap in Victoria for his interpretation on the ongoing lifecycle of an aluminium can called Long Live the Can. Andreas' outstanding film and message about the importance of recycling also included an animated can character.

Best Secondary Computer Game went to independent entry Cameron Panzenbock of Ingham in Queensland, who took out the prize in the same category in 2008. Cameron, now a year 10 student, won this year for his multi-level game Turmoil which features a rocket-powered superhero travelling the world saving the environment.

Two schools this year were awarded a prize of their own for best overall entry. Auburn Primary School won Best Overall Entry by a Primary School for their game Bins vs. Rubbish, and Best Overall Work by a Secondary School was taken out by Parramatta Marist High School for Future. Both schools won a state-of-the-art portable projector from Mitsubishi Electric.

Four special commendations were also awarded in instances where picking a winning work was an especially difficult task for the judges - an indication of the high standard of entries across the board. The schools were Tea Tree Gully Primary School in South Australia for Cleaning Beezzz; Cabramatta Public School, New South Wales for Crash!; Gleneagles Secondary College, Victoria for ZombieBusters; and independent entrant Sarah Sloan from Victoria for Not Just Us.

Run annually by ACMI, Screen It is open to anyone enrolled in primary or secondary education. Students can enter through their school or independently, but their entries must incorporate the year's theme and fit into one of three genres. Unlike other student film competitions, Screen It is designed to provide rich education outcomes for participants with a comprehensive Education Kit provided to assist in the production process.

Judged by a panel of industry experts, winners will each receive a trophy, certificate and a DVD prize pack courtesy of Madman Entertainment. In addition, winners' work will be shown on the ACMI website and is accessible via ACMI's new online resource, Generator. The Awards Ceremony will be held at ACMI on Friday, December 3, 2010 and will be hosted by award-winning comedian Richard Higgins. The theme for 2011's competition will be announced at the event.

For more information on the competition, why not visit the Screen It website.