The Teen2Teen VidFest contest rules were pretty straight forward: Any teen from Lincoln County could enter with a 15-, 30- or 60-second public safety announcement video on teens and tobacco use, distracted driving, or bullying. Out of 12 student directors (all from Lincoln Academy), 15 films were judged.

Teen2Teen video fest winner Ploypailin Intarawut took first prize with a trophy and $1,000 with her short artistic PSA that layered grim smoking statistics with a soft focus close up of a teen girl’s face changed by years of tobacco use. See her winning video in this story.

“It was challenging for the directors; we narrowed it down to the top three or four videos,” said one of the judges, Orion Breen, program director at Lincoln County Healthcare. “I thought [Intarawut’s winning video] was artistic, very well made technically and it sticks with you — you can watch it more than once.“

Lincoln County Health Literacy Partnership is a joint venture whose major goal is to educate members of the community regarding healthy choices and healthy behaviors.

Maya Crosby, Lincoln Academy’s digital and print media teacher said: “This had nothing to do with our class; it was extracurricular. She’s talented and creative. It shows some good artistic and technical ability.”

Intarawut said: “I like to make short films and wanted this to be something different, not something you’d usually see. I wanted it to be abstract, so everybody who watched it could take away from it a different perspective.” 

Intarawut also makes travel documentaries and said she’ll use her prize money for her college fund. She has been accepted to Mount Holyoke and plans to do a double major in international relations and East Asian studies.

The committee awarded Nathan Austin, a junior at Wiscasset High School, the second place trophy and a prize of $500 for his green screen depiction of distracted driving while texting. Lincoln Academy student Sammy Zaidi received the third-place trophy and $250, also on distracted driving. Finally, the Audience Award and $100 went to Lincoln Academy student Aidan Shadis.

Breen said the winning films will get shared on public access and local TV channels as well as online. 

“We hope the work of these students will inspire other teens to think about their actions and affirm healthy life choices,” said Breen. “We want this night to be just the beginning.”

To see a playlist of the rest of videos in this story go to "Teen2Teen Videos."

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com