Oscar Award Winners

Young achievers great inspiration, says PM

Six young Kiwis have been acknowledged in the 2011 Prime Minister's Pacific Youth Awards, which recognise young people who have excelled in their chosen field and help them to continue their studies.

John Key met the six yesterday and hailed them as high achievers and inspirational to their peers. "It's vital all young New Zealanders are encouraged to realise their potential if they are going to be successful in their chosen fields.

MARK DEWES: KEEN TO LEARN WETA'S MAGIC

Mark Dewes is looking forward to getting his hands dirty and creating magic at the Weta Workshop.

The 24-year-old from Papatoetoe has won this year's Creativity Award and will spend a year-long paid internship working alongside the likes of Oscar winner Sir Richard Taylor.

"I like making things like sculptures and I love model-making, so I'm really buzzing out still," Mr Dewes said.

"I'm just really excited about working there, just can't wait to get to Wellington and do the work."

The award recognises a student who has demonstrated a level of significant creativity in the arts or has applied creative thinking to solve a problem within the community.

Mr Dewes, whose island roots stem from Tonga, Tuvalu and Rotuma, has a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Auckland's Elam School of Fine Arts.

His work has featured in several exhibitions around the Auckland area, including at the Fresh Gallery, ArtSpace and one held for Youthline.

He works at Glasshammer Studios, based in West Auckland, which specialises in model-making for the television and film industry.

JOYCE TOLEAFOA: FROM HELPING MUM TO HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE

Joyce Toleafoa's father died when she was just 15 years old and she knew she had to secure a part-time job to help her mother out.

The teenager got a job at Pak'n'Save near the family's home in Manukau and she still works there to help her mother make ends meet.

Now 19, Joyce Toleafoa is one of three people to receive this year's Inspiration Award, which acknowledges young people who have acted in a way that has inspired others in their community.

Ms Toleafoa, who grew up in Otara, is studying towards a bachelor of arts degree majoring in education and is specialising in primary school education.

She chose the field solely because she wants to help young people.

"I'm passionate about teaching, and knowing that I can have a positive effect on a person's life is what gets me.

Academy to Choose Honorary Oscar Winners | The Wrap Awards

The vast majority of this year's awards-worthy movies have yet to be seen by the Academy, but that won't stop three or four people from winning Academy Awards on Tuesday.

In the evening, the Academy will host a meeting of its board of governors at which the annual Governors Awards will be chosen. The awards encompass the honorary Oscar, the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (given to a film producer) and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (for charity work), and are awarded for a body of work, not for an individual film or performance.

When they're announced -- late Tuesday night if all the winners can be reached immediately, or Wednesday morning if they can't -- the names will join the last two years of Governors Award winners in making up the largest crop of honorary Oscar winners in a three-year stretch at any time in the past 30 years.

That's by design: Saluting more cinema legends was part of the point in 2009, when the Academy decided to move the honorary awards off the Oscar telecast and into a separate, non-televised program. (Another crucial reason, of course, was to shorten the Oscar show.)

Since the change was made, the governors have selected four honorees each year -- a number that hasn't been common since the 1970s, which saw years of four, five and even six winners. But since then, the Academy has voted two or three winners most years -- and since 2002, never more than two.  

But in 2009, the first year of the separate Governors Awards show, four winners were chosen: Lauren Bacall, Gordon Willis, Roger Corman and John Calley.

The following year added another four: Francis Coppola ( above ), Eli Wallach, Jean-Luc Godard and Kevin Brownlow. Another four are likely to be chosen on Tuesday night, under new Academy rules that make three honorary winners a virtual certainty and four a strong likelihood.