MANDEVILLE, Manchester — The team behind the animated production Stoplight Hustle won six awards at Northern Caribbean University’s (NCU’s) Lignum Vitae Film Festival on Sunday, April 12.

They walked away with awards for Best Overall Picture, Best Script, Best Animation, Best Producer, Best Foley and the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Award for Jamaican Creativity through Film.

“I was surprised but I am very thankful,” said producer Sheena McLean, who told the Jamaica Observer Central that preparations for the piece started in November last year.

The festival, which is in its sixth year, is staged through the Department of Communication Studies at NCU.

Organisers say that it is open to persons within Jamaica, the Caribbean and “further afield” who are not classified as professionals in the creative industry.

The participants had to choose from the categories of Animation, Silent Film, Short Film, Mobile Film and Trailers for their submissions.

Festival spokesman Ricardo Campbell said that there is noticeable growth in the event.

“It is growing in terms of attendance, sponsors, quality of films and the general cohesion of the planning team that put on a great show every year,” he said.

— Alicia Sutherland