SINGAPORE - The slate of nominees for the third National Youth Film Awards (NYFA) were announced at *Scape Gallery on June 22.

More than 200 films will vie for 23 awards in categories such as Best Screenplay and Best Colour Grading in this annual short film competition presented by *Scape and the National Youth Council. The winners will be announced on July 22 and they will receive trophies, cash prizes of up to $2,000, and various industry-related prizes.

There are seven nominees for Best Picture and they include Changi from Nanyang Technological University, in which an immigrant mother reconciles with her son on the notion of home over the course of a cab ride; and Red from Curtin Singapore, in which two gang members are caught in a bind under the rule of a ruthless leader.

The submissions were assessed by a 19-member jury panel consisting of industry stalwarts such as Singapore International Film Festival executive director Yuni Hadi and writer-producer Tan Fong Cheng.

The NYFA is one of the anchor events of July's Youth Month and it aims to discover and recognise the best of emerging talent for technical film crafts in Singapore. The competition is open to youth film-makers from local institutes of higher learning.

Mr Nicholas Chee, awards director for NYFA, says: "The awards connect emerging talent with industry professionals, helping to raise and groom the next generation of film auteurs in Singapore. This year, the stories we have seen reflect topics that are close to the hearts of youth in Singapore today, and more importantly, showcase an authenticity in using film as a medium to represent their voices."

A two-day NYFA Weekend will take place over June 30 and July 1 in conjunction with Shine Festival, bringing together youths and key film and media industry players to exchange ideas and engage one another through talks, workshops and screenings.

Members of the public can also participate and support the nominees by casting votes for their favourite non-media student category films before July 10. They can also visit a pop-up film set at *Scape, which shines a spotlight on the art of production design.

For more information on NYFA 2017, visit www.scape.sg/nyfa.