Winners crowned at 2023 Team Up Folktale Oscars

Teaming up in video production

Winners from five Pacific countries collected awards at the second annual Team Up Folktale Oscars, held virtually and in Pacific hubs on 2 June 2023.

The event celebrates creativity and excellence in video production among Team Up partners using Folktale, a video storytelling platform that Team Up-supported programs use to report on impact and produce media content.

Team Up has been using Folktale since 2021, and in 2023 it became a compulsory element of the program’s monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning (MERL) framework, replacing some paper reporting requirements and giving voice to a more diverse range of program staff and participants in reporting and communications content.

The introduction of Folktale has also allowed Team Up to build the video production capacity of dozens of sport for development staff and volunteers across the Pacific, through running virtual and face-to-face training in how to use Folktale and in transferable video production and impact storytelling skills.

The 2023 ceremony celebrated winners and nominees in 11 categories (an increase from seven in 2022): most improved production; best presenter; best profile; best messaging; best impact story; best disability story; best gender story; most enthusiastic production team; best program showcase; best director and most outstanding video. All Folktale videos produced by Team Up partners in Fiji, Nauru, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu from 2022-2023 were considered for the awards. 

Each category winner collected a prize pack of video production-enhancing accessories for their program, as well as Team Up prize packs for themselves and the person featured in their video. The winner of the most outstanding video category, Frances Gaufa Salesa from the League for Life program in Samoa (for her video that also won the Best Gender Story category) also won a face-to-face masterclass in Folktale video production, to be delivered to NRL Samoa staff by Folktale specialists later in 2023.

“I’d like to thank Team Up for giving us the opportunity to use Folktale,” Frances said on accepting her award. “This is my second year (of using it) and I love getting the children involved and continuing to improve the qualities of my videos.”

Iliaseri Vonovono from the Just Play program in Fiji won the Best Messaging category for an interview with a volunteer conducted entirely in sign language. On accepting his award, he said: “I was surprised to be nominated, but I’m honoured to be here today and truly grateful to be the recipient of this award.”

After winning the Most Improved Production category in 2022, Joyce Koiari from the Inclusive GymBad program in PNG was named Best Director in 2023. “I’ve had my eyes on this award since last year,” Joyce admitted in her acceptance speech. “Thank you to Team Up and the Australian Government for this wonderful opportunity, thank you to Folktale for making the MERL aspect of our program easier. Through using Folktale I’ve learnt a lot of new skills, so thank you for creating this platform for us to learn. Thank you also to my team at Inclusive GymBad, our partners, our coaches and our participants who took part in all the Folktale videos.”

Folktale co-founder David Lloyd-Lewis, who attended the ceremony at the PNG hub, praised Team Up partners for embracing the platform so enthusiastically. “We at Folktale are blown away by the adoption of Folktale and improvement throughout the Team Up community,” he said. 

“Adopting new technology is not always easy but Team Up has become part of a global community of people who use story and see the world in a different way. I think we all believe now that story has the opportunity to drive change, capture and document impact, and to share things that words on paper cannot, so I commend all of you for taking the brave and courageous step to press that scary red record button and adopt something new.”

The full list of Team Up Folktale Oscar winners (and nominees in brackets) is:

• Most Improved Production: Meleseini Tufui, Just Play Tonga (nominees: Mickey Tamarua, Just Play PNG and Chantal Willie, Volley4Change Vanuatu)
• Best Presenter: Basil Jofari, Kicks 4 Kokoda PNG (nominees: Selemaia Lo’amanu, Smash Down Barriers Tonga and Dorna Longbut, Inclusive GymBad PNG)
• Best Profile: Glenton Bani, Swim, Splash & Survive Vanuatu (nominees: Lola Ilumpui, Hook In4 Health PNG and Mickey Tamarua, Just Play PNG)
• Best Messaging: Iliaseri Vonovono, Just Play Fiji (nominees: Elizabeth Guka, Kicks 4 Kokoda PNG and Joe Kafatolu, League for Life Tonga)
• Best Impact Story: Glenton Bani, Swim, Splash & Survive Vanuatu (nominees: Joyce Koiari, Inclusive GymBad PNG and Nimilote Ledua, League for Life Fiji)
• Best Disability Story: Salote Fungavai, Smash Down Barriers Tonga (nominees: Frances Gaufa Salesa, League for Life Samoa and Hotel Manua Maki, Volley4Change Vanuatu)
• Best Gender Story: Frances Gaufa Salesa, League for Life Samoa (nominees: Elizabeth Guka, Kicks 4 Kokoda PNG and Lavenia Yalovi, Get into Rugby PLUS Fiji)
• Most Enthusiastic Production Team: Volley4Change Vanuatu (nominees: Kicks 4 Kokoda PNG and Smash Down Barriers Tonga)
• Best Program Showcase: Netina Latu, Smash Down Barriers Tonga (nominees: Glenton Bani, Swim, Splash & Survive Vanuatu and Elizabeth Guka, Kicks 4 Kokoda PNG)
• Best Director: Joyce Koiari, Inclusive GymBad PNG (nominees: Elizabeth Guka, Kicks 4 Kokoda PNG and Tapai Talaifono, Healthy Nanas and Disability Cricket Samoa)
• Most Outstanding Video: Frances Gaufa Salesa, League for Life Samoa (nominees: Glenton Bani, Swim, Splash & Survive Vanuatu and Netina Latu, Smash Down Barriers Tonga)

Watch video highlights of all the nominees’ work in the video gallery below: