A Duncan student has swept the competition after receiving top honors at the 2025 BC Student Film Festival.
Schools from across the province gathered at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver where students competed in 14 genres and categories with four Duncan students being recognized for their work.
According to Queen Margaret’s School (QMS), two poets and a film maker were recognized during a celebration at Vancouver Island on the weekend with a sold-out crowd, and out of a record number of entries 15 finalists were chosen, and the school took home the top two awards.
Jason Cheng was named for Best Documentary of 2025, which followed a renowned Indigenous artist, John Qap’u’luq Marston, on his journey to rediscover and revive the near-lost art of whole-log canoe carving.
Cheng says researching and publishing the film was a unique experience, one his honoured to have participated in.
“I’m deeply grateful to John [Marston] and his family for their generosity with their time and space,” he says. “It allowed me to delve deeply into the craft of canoe making and uncover the rich Coast Salish history embodied in his work.”
Along with Cheng receiving his award, three other QMS students were also recognized for their work including Alex Wayne-Winterhalt (Grade 12) who won first place for spoken word poem, and Saylor Bazylinkski (Grade 8) for her poem and Charlotte Irving for her recent second place win in the BC Youth Poetry Competiton and Film Festival.
Photo credit: Supplied
Bazylinkski and Irving split a prize of $2,500, and Wayne-Winterhalt was presented with a cheque for $5,000.
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