A funny tale about a man trying to find his grandpa’s buried treasure in the middle of Whistler Village has won the 2015 Olympus 72 Hour Filmmakers Showdown.
Grandpa’s Treasure Trail, by Vancouver filmmaker and photographer Ben Geisbrecht, won the $8,000 first prize.
Geisbrecht also took home an extra $5,000 for shooting the five-minute short on Olympus film equipment.
Jordan Ettinger and Charles Nasby were also on the team.
And the film was the winner of the People’s Choice Award, with 1,000 audience members placing ping-pong balls in large vases representing each of the seven finalist films.
Thirty-one teams spent 72 hours from Friday, April 10 to Monday, April 13 filming and editing films from three-to-five-minutes long.
Giesbrecht and his team had no plan for their film before receiving the prop given to teams each year — this year’s being a green spray bottle — but once they saw bottle the whole story came together.
Judges selected the winner at the Whistler Conference Centre on Wednesday, April 15.
“You guys are awesome!” Giesbrecht told the audience after being handed two big cheques totaling $13,000.
For more on the winners and the wrap up of the World Ski and Snowboard Festival check out Pique Newsmagazine or visit www.piquenewsmagazine.com on Thursday, April 23.
