MYP 3 student Valentino Torre has won second prize in an international writing competition for a self-composed song and music video titled “Words not War”.
Valentino beat out more than 2,700 entries from 60+ countries in the Never Such Innocence Creative Writing Prize which as a World War 1 memorial encourages students to submit works on the question “What does war mean to you?”
Valentino wrote, composed and recorded the song during a weekend and then polished it off with a music video during class time.
The song focuses on the human ability to talk with each other and create dialogue rather than to become involved in physical conflict. You can view the video here.
Organisers of the competition got in touch during the weekend to confirm the good news after Valentino entered his music video for the competition in March.
“The judges were blown away by the amazing work received! The pieces were incredibly thoughtful and brilliantly created. We hope that you will be very proud of this achievement,” they said.
The full list of winners including Valentino’s work can be found here.
Congratulations, Valentino!
Words NOT War
Lyrics by Valentino Chris Torre
War confounds me… as
The northern wind beneath a tall green tree
Now, to spread my wings, is not an easy thing
A colour will mark the trail of pain
A river of blood will soak as flood
THE DARK APPEARS TO BE THE ONLY LIGHT
An idea with a coming of deception
Shadows of hidden life show up as shipwrecked thoughts
An aimless anguish
Reflection of dystopian worlds as broken mirrors
We want words, not war
Words… as key to PEACE