Griffith Students Win Film Documentary of the Year At SMEDIAs 2022

The film examines body image in the Queer community.

Griffith College had a big win at the National Student Media Awards (SMEDIAs) last night, when our talented students took home the prize for Film Documentary of the Year.

After virtual award ceremonies over the past three years, the SMEDIAs returned in person with a ceremony in the Aviva Stadium on Thursday, April 28th.

Arthur Lopes, Adriana Ribeiro, Ingrid Machado, Ying Qi Loh and Ayman Scuffins took home the coveted award, for their documentary LIBRE.

LIBRE is a celebration of the experiences queer people go through when it comes to body image.

Speaking about his win on the night, director Arthur told Griffith: "It's been a journey for all of us, because we did it. We finished this film back in June last year and then since then, we've applied for festivals. We knew we had something special, but we weren't ever expecting it to be seen by different people in different countries and for it to win awards."

He also spoke about the importance of these stories, and why they created the documentary.

"For us, the SMEDIAs win is just like the cherry on top of the cake. We're really proud. We didn't expect this because the competition was really high. We just wanted to send a message to LGBTQ people, the queer community, the straight community, non-binary community, any community out there that had issues and stories of their own bodies - it was a way to reach these people and leave them with a good message."

Director Arthur Lopes, a BA in Film, Television and Screen Media Production Graduate at Griffith College, has already received huge recognition for this powerful documentary. It was shown at the Dublin International Film Festival in 2022, and it was the winner of Best Film at LGBTQ+ Toronto Film Festival 2021, Winner for Best LGBTQ Documentary at Venice Shorts 2021 and also took home the title of Winner of Best Documentary Short at Prague International Indie Film Festival 2021.

A huge congratulations to Arthur, Ingrid, Ying Qi and Ayman, and to all the Griffith students nominated across all categories this year.

To find out more about our creative courses, check out our Creative Arts & Screen Media faculty.