Brisbane is set to celebrate Australia’s best digital content at a free event on 18 May following the announcement of the 2017 finalists.

Screen Queensland Board Chair Linda Apelt welcomed the awards to Queensland and congratulated the finalists across 14 categories, including drama, comedy, non-fiction, music and animation.

“The annual national Online Video Awards (OVAs) will be held in Brisbane in 2017 for the first time as a result of support from Screen Queensland,” Ms Apelt said.

“We invite content creators and the wider industry to attend this special night.”

Awards creator Simon Britton said the OVAs were partnering with three Brisbane institutions (Griffith Live Lab, QUT and JMC Academy) to produce the 2017 awards.

“The year’s awards night promises to be a fast-paced, humorous look at the world of the video creator,” Mr Britton said.

“More than 200 entries from content creators all over Australia were narrowed down to a finals list that includes favorites such Wengie and newcomers such as Indigenous creators of Our Place from Alice Springs.”

Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira said bringing the OVAs to Brisbane was part of a long-term strategy to position Queensland as leaders in digital screen innovation.

“Screen Queensland continues to champion change in a fast-moving, global environment with a focus on new digital platforms,” Ms Vieira said.

Ms Vieira gave a special nod to Brisbane-based Ludo Studio, nominated in multiple OVAs categories for their production of Doodles, which won the International Emmy® Kids Award in Cannes in April.

The OVA winners will be announced at the Brisbane Powerhouse on 18 May, in an event hosted by comedian Damien Power.

To attend the free event and for further details and a list of finalists go to: www.ovas.tv