Bond University Film and Television student and animator extraordinaire, 20-year-old Cameron Edser, has been named as one of 14 national finalists in the Nescafe Big Break competition.

The prestigious competition, now in its 17th year, gives away cash grants to help young people turn their big ideas into reality.

Cameron (right) entered the competition with childhood friend and fellow animator Michael Richards, with their proposal to open an animation studio in Adelaide.

"It is a dream we've had for a long time, ever since we decided we wanted to make a career out of animation," Cameron said.

The two entrepreneurs are well on their way to achieving that dream, with their place in the national finals securing them a minimum $4,000 grant, and putting them in with a good shot of the major prize– a whopping $100,000.

"The prize money will help us pursue our goal of establishing our company, Guru Animations.

"Equipment is one of our major areas of expense - professional gear, such as a cameras, computers, software and lights are our main priorities.

"If we are lucky enough to receive the grand prize of $100,000 we would be looking at buying a studio facility - possibly a warehouse or large office space that we can eventually develop into our studio with a construction workshop area, editing suite, sound suite and large workspace for production," he said.

This isn’t the first time Cameron’s talents in animation have brought him success. Last year, he beat hundreds of other high-school students around the country to take top honours in the Bond University Film and Television Awards (BUFTA), with his claymation entry The Bushman from Bunyip Billabong.

As overall winner, he won a full scholarship to study a Bachelor of Film and Television at Bond and moved from Adelaide to the Gold Coast to commence his studies this year.

Bond University Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Raoul Mortley, Managing Director of AV Central (sponsor) John Lake, Cameron Edser, BUFTA Manager Alex Fischer, Director of Bond’s Centre for Film and Television Professor Bruce Molloy

"Winning BUFTA was a great help and it has really helped put my name, and my film, on the map.

"The Bushman from Bunyip Billabong has since been accepted into over 20 international film festivals and has already won six awards, which is fantastic."

With the international film community already taking note of his talents, Cameron looks set to easily achieve his five-year goal of developing Guru Animations into a company that is recognised "at least nationally".

""At the end of the day, this is our dream and it’s something we’re going to do with or without the cash prize.

"I can safely say that I will be doing something I love doing and hopefully creating the kind of films, music videos and advertisements that I would pay to see myself," he said.

Aspiring high school filmmakers looking to follow in Cameron’s footsteps are encouraged to become involved in this year’s Bond University Film and Television Awards.

Visit http://www.bond.edu.au/events/bufta/ for more information, or to view Cameron’s winning entry from last year – The Bushman from Bunyip Billabong.