Here’s awrap-up of the MY Challenge Photography, Short Film and Drama categories at MY Challenge.

The Photography category finals last month had participants testing their skills behind the lens at the Bukit Kiara Park in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Selangor.

They were given less than two hours to shoot and submit two photos, one on the theme “Human Portrait”, for which two models were on hand, and the other on “Nature”.

The judges’ scores were given based on relevance to the theme, composition, originality and creativity, focus and depth of field, and lighting.

In the end, the gold medal went to Ilsa Ameera Mohamad Harun from SM Sri KDU, who was on hand to receive the medal alongside silver medallist Nor’ain Mohd Nor from SMK (P) Sri Aman and bronze medallist Ashifah Muchlis from SMK Puteri Ampang during the grand finals.

“Winning the gold for photography feels amazing. When I found out I won, I ran to tell my dad. He’s my inspiration in my passion for photography and helped me get started,” said Ilsa Ameera.

Clinique brand general manager Sharyn Wong (L) and Canon Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Imaging Communication Product Division director Simon Wong (R) presenting the winners' medals for the MY Challenge Photography category to Ashifah Muchlis (bronze), Ilsa Ameera Mohamad Harun (gold) and Nor'ain Mohd Nor (silver).

And even though she finished second, silver medallist Nor’ain was glad to have had the experience.

“MY Challenge is definitely a confidence booster. I learned that I should always be confident in myself and never be afraid to try,” she said, adding that she hopes there will be a MY Challenge 2012.

Also inspired by the competition was bronze medallist Ashifah, who now hopes to take her interest in photography a step further by studying multimedia design when she finishes secondary school.

Screen stars

The audience at the MY Challenge grand finals were treated to a screening of SM Sri KDU’s gold medal-winning short film, titled Operation Silent Night.

Director Jerry Wong, 17, gave the comedy crime-caper genre a quirky high school twist, sort of an Ocean’s Eleven for twelfth graders.

The film revolves around a slacker in school, who hatches an elaborate plot to steal the exam papers, only to realise that with the amount of effort he was putting in to the heist, he could probably just as well have studied for the test (sorry for the spoiler).

“It feels great winning the gold. It’s unreal, I’m still in shock,” said Jerry, who shares the win with his schoolmates, who all gave convincing performances in the film shot in their own school.

The Short Film category gold medallists from SM Sri KDU take centre stage during the MY Challenge grand finals. Presenting their awards are Canon Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Imaging Communications Product Division director Simon Wong (front, left) and Clinique brand general manager Sharyn Wong (front, second left).

Change, directed by Joanne Poon Kar Man from SMK Subang Utama, came in second place, while director Lee Zhang Feng, 17, and his team from SMK Kepong Baru claimed bronze with their film, My Dream.

The entries were judged on cinematography as well as the creativity of the story.

To watch all of the nine finalists’ short films, log on to rage.com.my.

Drama queens (and kings)

The three medal-winning drama teams were asked to perform their sketches at the MY Challenge grand finals, and boy did they deliver.

Gold medallists SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (3), silver medallists SM Sri KDU and bronze medallists SMK St Mary had the audience in fits of laughter with their decidedly Malaysian humour.

The challenge in the category was for students to not only act well, but to also put together a creative script based on one of four themes: fostering friendship or family values, honouring unsung heroes, exploring the uniqueness of Malaysian life and healthy social/emotional living.

SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (3) showed why their play Multiracial Lifestyle bagged them the gold, with talk-of-the-competition Kevin Lim, 17, doing a fantastic job playing the female lead character Susan.

The hilarious Kevin Lim and Ian Raj, the two leads in the MY Challenge gold medal-winning drama by SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (3).

Kevin was hilariously campy as Susan, a Malaysian woman helping her friend from Bangladesh explore Malaysian culture by giving him a tour of Kuala Lumpur.

“We are very thankful to god and very happy. We are also thankful for the never-ending support from our friends, family and our school,” said Kevin.

Silver medallists SM Sri KDU were disappointed to have missed out on the gold, but director Tan Ian was nevertheless glad for the experience.

“The chance to be a part of this wonderful group of actors and actresses is really a blessing, and for that I feel very happy,” he said.

The silver medal-winning drama team from SM Sri KDU performing during the MY Challenge grand finals.

Also performing during the grand finals was the all-girl cast from SMK St Mary, led by Priyadharrsini Sethu Pathy, 16; and the girls had a point to prove to their school.

“As you can see, we’re the only group without a teacher,” said Issal Prakash Kaur, 14. “We’ve been on our own the whole way. The teachers aren’t very supportive of us.”

“Maybe they think we’re doing this for fun, or for fame. But we really do it because it’s our passion, because we want to make people laugh. Malaysians have a good sense of humour. It’s just hidden sometimes.”