AFTRS was well represented at the 2018 Sydney Film Festival Awards announced at last night’s Closing Night Gala.
Alumnus Tom Noakes (Graduate Diploma: Directing, 2009) took home the $7,000 Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director as part of the The Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films for his film Nursery Rhymes. The Jury, comprised of NZ actress-turned-filmmaker Miranda Harcourt, Executive Vice President of Sony Pictures Entertainment Stephen Basil-Jones, and Australian producer Kylie Du Fresne, called the film in a joint statement “a perfectly executed singular vision which really packs a punch.” Its creative team included screenwriter Will Goodfellow (Master of Screen Arts, 2014) and co-producer Lucy Gaffy (Master of Screen Arts, 2012).
Lost & Found, written and co-directed by Bradley Slabe (Master of Screen Arts 2014), was awarded the $5,000 Yoram Gross Animation Award, with Larissa Behrendt (Graduate Diploma Documentary, 2013, Graduate Diploma Screenwriting, 2012), receiving a Special Mention for her Barbara.
Receiving a Special Mention for the Event Cinemas Australian Short Screenplay Award was the duo of current student Nathan Mewett (Master of Arts Screen: Screenwriting, 2018) and Curtis Taylor, for their short Yulubindi – Until the End. The pair were also recipients of the 2018 Lexus Australia Short Film Fellowship.
Ghosthunter, shot by alumnus cinematographer Hugh Miller (Master of Arts (Film & Television) Cinematography, 2002), was named this year’s winner of the $10,000 Documentary Australia Foundation Award, for the “humanity brought to this complex and dark subject matter as well as the suspenseful storytelling approach”.
Last but certainly not least, director Warwick Thornton (Bachelor of Arts (Film & Television) Cinematography, 1995), known for his feature films Samson and Delilah and Sweet Country, was awarded this year’s Sydney-UNESCO City of Film Award from Create NSW. The award recognises trail-blazing NSW-based screen practitioners whose work stands for innovation, imagination and high impact, and includes a $10,000 cash prize.
Congratulations to all alumni and current students whose works were part of this year’s Sydney Film Festival. We can’t wait to see what the festival brings when it returns in 2019.