On Saturday, October 13, 2012, WHYY hosted their second annual Youth Media Awards ceremony at the WHYY studios in Philadelphia.  On hand to recognize the winners were WHYY President and CEO Bill Marrazzo, Arts Reporter Peter Crimmins, NPR reporter and WHYY Executive Producer Elisabeth Perez-Luna, among others.  The evening was complete with a red carpet and paparazzi!  In a festival open to students in the Philadelphia region, Upper Dublin was well represented with several award winners in attendance.

In the Documentary Film category, UDHS sophmore, James Tralie placed second with "What Is A Life", a poignant film about his grandparents and their meeting during WWII (while his grandfather, a French sailor, was on leave in Philadelphia), making a life and raising a family first in France and then back in the Philadelphia area.  This is Tralie's second time at the awards, he was recognized for a Middle School submission in 2011.  Also in the Documentary Film category, senior Conor O'Mara placed third with his submission, "Right Foot Forward" a thoughtful piece about the local skateboarding community that dispels negative sterotypes about skaters.  This is the second award for "Right Foot Forward" O'Mara's film placed second in the Greenfield Youth Film Festival earlier this year.

UDHS class of 2012 graduates Jared Hirsh, Alex Stern and Alex Woodin placed third in the Narrative Film category for their film, "Noir", beautifully shot in black and white, a humorous homage to the classic film noir style.  The recent graduates' "Noir"also took the third place in the Judges Award for Best of the Fest. The Judges Award winners are chosen as standout films for their committment to storytelling and technical proficiency.

More coverage of the Awards, the Upper Dublin student films, as well as the other WHYY YMA winners can be found at http://www.whyy.org/hamiltoncommons/yma.php

The WHYY Youth Media Awards honors the best media produced by youth in grades 6-12 in the Philadelphia region.  The 2012 YMA honored films produced between August 1, 2011 and July 31, 2012.  WHYY recieved over 165 entries competing in Narrative, Documentary, News Report, Open and Middle School and chose 15 finalists for awards.