Kareem Mortimer and Britanny Ambrister (center) receive their prizes from Clarence Rolle, general manager of the Bahamas Film Commission (left), and Bahamas Film and Television Commissioner Craig Woods (right).

Nassau, Bahamas - The Grand Bahama Port Authority added to the Christmas festivities of two Nassau filmmakers by providing cash prizes for their winning entries in a Grand Bahama Island film competition.

The competition was part of the 3rd Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival On Location: Grand Bahama Island. The Port Authority and Ministry of Tourism partnered to select 26 Bahamian entries for the competition. Directors Kareem Mortimer and Britanny Ambrister emerged as winners in the Open and College category, respectively. Meanwhile, George McInnes was named the winner in the high school category and already received two round-trip tickets to attend the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival; a $500.00 cash prize, and a trophy for placement in their school.

Ms. Ambrister is in her final year of studies at the College of The Bahamas. Mr. Mortimer is a full-time filmmaker, who is currently developing his third feature. His recently-released short film, Passage, has won numerous awards, including the Best Short Film at the 2013 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival.

Mr. Mortimer’s recent honours also included being selected as one of only 10 international filmmakers selected to take part in the 2013 Talent Lab at the Toronto International Film Festival. He was a finalist in at WorldView/Tribeca pitch competition and won Telefilm Canada Caribbean Tales pitch competition for his feature in development, Cargo.

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ahamas Film and Television Commissioner Craig Woods (right) personally presentations the award to Britanny Ambrister and her mentor, College of the Bahamas Communications professor Hugo Zarate.