Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, February 23, 2023
Wellingtonian and Massey Alumni, Zakea Page has been selected to be on the judging panel for the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Games Medal Design Competition.
The Competition was launched for the fourth edition of the Winter youth Olympic games to be held in Gangwon, Republic of Korea from January 19 to February 1, 2024.
The vision of Gangwon 2024 is to let young people celebrate peaceful coexistence and unity through sports and to create a better future together.
The winner will be announced by the end of March 2023 and the chosen design will be cast in gold, silver, and bronze to be awarded to the winning athletes.
Artist and Athlete
Zakea Page’s life has come full circle as he created the winning medal design for the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020. His design entitled “Beauty in Diversity” represented a culture of respect, friendship, and excellence, inspired by legendary American poet Maya Angelou who worked to educate others on the importance of valuing human diversity.
“Looking back on my experience at Lausanne 2020, I am grateful to have been a small part of it. It is a great honour to be on the judging panel this time,” Mr Page said.
Recalling the 2020 Youth Olympics where he performed at the opening ceremony, Mr Page said, “It is my belief that sport and art require a strong drive for excellence, dedication, and detail. Having travelled around the world, I witnessed how art and sport both bring together communities and people of diverse backgrounds. Artistry and competition bridge barriers of language and foster connections, mutual understanding, and respect for one another. Drawing synergy from both art and sport, my performance at the Opening Ceremony was a statement against the stereotypical art vs sports dichotomy into which New Zealand youth are very often forced.”
Ink And Gold
Mr Page recently completed his debut documentary short film “Ink and Gold: An Artist’s Journey To Olympic Glory” depicting his experience of designing the medals for the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games and performing at the Opening ceremony.
The documentary highlights the connection between art and sport to demonstrate that investing in both is culturally beneficial for New Zealand, the world of sport, and humanity.
Mr Page said, “It is an opportunity to share what I learned and experienced – a reflection on my Olympic journey and the fact that we are all multi-faceted beings. I hope that the audience develops a deeper understanding of the values that went into my performance – values that align with the Olympic movement which I take pride in as an artist, an athlete, and a New Zealander. The performance is a statement against the stereotypical art vs sports dichotomy that youth are very often forced into, playing with the idea that every athlete is an artist.”
The team behind the project
The Wellington-based production team includes producer and editor K W Miller, colourist Ethan Thompson, cinematographer Shyam Patel, and sound mixer Matt Asunder. The film soundtrack includes music from Kiwi musicians Cameron Fox and InDuna.
The team also utilised the 2D rendering services of Wellingtonian design artist Ryan Ardern and the photoshop skills of Blenheim design illustrator Stewart Wiggins to digitally elevate his original design when initially submitting his design concept for the competition.
Story of Success
The film received 28 Official Selection laurels from film festivals around the globe in 2023, including garnering 21 ‘Best Documentary Short Film’ awards, including Critics Choice Award at the Qatar Indie Film Festival, Independent Film Festival in (Qatar), Gulf Tiger International Film Festival (Dubai), Saudi Arabia International Film Festival (Jeddah), Lion City International Film Festival (Singapore), Muscat International Film Festival (Oman), Suwon-Si International Film Fest (Korea), Dilmun International Film Festival and Tylos International Film Festival (Bahrain)
Along with winning several ‘Best Director,’ ‘Best Producer’ and multiple ‘Best Editor’ awards, the film has gathered love and support across the world for being a story of youth success.
Currently a quarter-finalist at the South Pacific Film Festival, the film will be screened twice at their mid-season NZ Independent Film Festival with films from 6 continents.
The film will be up for an Audience Award alongside a place in the festival finals in August held in Nelson and Wellington.
For more information on the film and screening opportunities, please visit inkandgoldmovie.com
Watch the trailer of the Film here.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
