AFTRS student films are making some serious waves on the festival circuit. They’re touring the globe, celebrating world premieres and showcasing impressive work that has been produced by students and alumni – Australia’s finest emerging screen talent – during their time at the School.
Third-year Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student Orla Doyle is in contention for Byron Bay Film Festival’s (23 October – 1 November) highly coveted Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year Award, with her first-year AFTRS student production, Head Spins screening at the hybrid – virtual and in-cinemas – 2020 edition. Last year’s prize was claimed by recent graduate Claudia Bailey (Bachelor of Arts Screen, 2019) for her short film Appetite.
Three 2019 Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production graduate projects are set to have their world premieres this November. Like How I Remember, written and directed by Brittany Xu will feature at the 37th Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (13-22 November), one of only two Oscars-qualifying children’s film festivals in the world. Angus Woodiwiss’ Abbey and Moose’s Detective Agency is headed to London Short Series Festival (13-14 November) and Barnacle Face by writer/director Jean-David Le Goullon will make its debut in the Sydney edition of Monster Fest (29 October – 8 November), screening before feature film, Psycho Goreman on 1 November.
Several AFTRS student works have just celebrated their first appearances on screens at festivals locally and abroad. After earning an Australian Directors’ Guild nomination, Lost Boy by Peter Skinner (Master of Arts Screen, 2019; Graduate Diploma in Directing, 2013), premiered at Brisbane International Film Festival, while Necktie by Jeremy Nicholas (Master of Arts Screen graduate, 2019) made its debut at Adelaide Film Festival and Archie Chew’s (Master of Arts Screen, 2019) The End, The Beginning premiered at Sweden’s Academy-accredited Uppsala Short Film Festival. Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?, the second-year AFTRS project of 2019 Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production graduate Erika Felton, showed at the inaugural Her International Film Festival in Ireland while Deborah Brown’s (Master of Arts Screen, 2019) Bala screened at Asinakba Film & Media Arts Festival, followed by an appearance at ImagineNATIVE Film and Arts Festival, Toronto.
Since making its warm reception at CinefestOZ in August, Xanthe Dobbie’s 2019 Master of Arts Screen capstone project Elagabalus has been crossing continents, having its international premiere at NewFest, New York and appearing at Uppsala Short Film Festival, Sweden. Next stops for Elagabalus will be FilmSchoolFest in Munich and at Gold Coast Queer Film Festival, alongside a screening of Sally Potter’s iconic 1992 film, Orlando.
Also making its debut at CinefestOZ was Sunburn, the final project of 2018 Bachelor of Arts Screen graduate, writer/director Jaslyn Mairs.
Having embarked on a multi-stop world tour since its debut in 2019, All Good Things, written and directed by Simon Croker, has just made its most recent appearance in competition for the prestigious £30,000 Iris Prize, the world’s largest LGBTQI+ short film award. The past year has seen the film win the $5,000 Queer Screen Emerging Filmmaker prize, receive a 2020 Australian Director’s Guild nomination, and make appearances at Reeling Film Festival in Chicago, Flickerfest, Brisbane International Film Festival and Melbourne Queer Film Festival.
After recent appearances at festivals in Sweden and Seoul, and an Australian debut at St Kilda Film Festival, Sasha Vivian-Riding’s (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production 2018) After the Away made its way to Kids Kino International Film Festival in Poland, last month.
Following its world premiere at this year’s Revelation Film Festival and an international debut at Telluride Horror Show Colorado Millie Malcolm’s (Graduate Certificate Screen: Directing, 2018) The Familiars locked in a few more festival spots, appearing at Maniatic Film Festival in Spain, San Sebastian Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, Festival Rhode Island International Film Festival’s Vortex Sci-Fi Fantasy & Horror Film Festival.
Adam Boys’ Brunch Shift Massacre continues its tour de force on the genre festival circuit with a screening at Anatomy Crime and Horror International Film Festival in Greece (October 29-November 1). Since premiering at Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in 2019, the short won Best Student Film at 2019 MonsterFest, Best Ozploit! at Sydney Underground Film Festival and officially launched on AFTRS’ YouTube channel, and screened to countless audiences at dozens of festivals.
AFTRS capstone project My First Panic, written and directed by 2018 Master of Arts Screen graduate Michaela Holmes has screened at Festival Mental in Lisbon, earned editor Jesse Hildebrand an Ellie Award nomination and is now available to view on ABC iview alongside Jacob Melamed’s AFTRS project, Invisible.
Keep an eye out for these films on the festival circuit and stay tuned for more selections and announcements.
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Abby & Moose’s Detective Agency
Writer/director: Angus Woodiwiss (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Producers: Erika Felton (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019), Serena Siow (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Cinematographer: Serena Siow
Production designer: Claire Harmer (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019; Diploma in Camera Fundamentals, 2016)
Editor/animator: Angus Woodiwiss
Composer: Blaise Borrer
Sound supervisor: Alfred Faber (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
First assistant director: Eli T.R. Potter (Current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student)
After the Away
Writer/director/producer/editor: Sasha Vivian-Riding (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Production designer: Benjamin Lannon (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Editor: Alex Warren (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
First assistant camera: Jordan Mutton (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
First assistant director: Elijah McKeogh (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
All Good Things
Director/writer: Simon Croker (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018; Foundation Diploma, 2014)
Story by Simon Croker and Jory Anast
Producer: Linus Gibson (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Cinematographer/colourist: Lucca Barone-Peters (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Editor: William Tran (Graduate Certificate Screen: Editing, 2018; Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Gaffer: Zachary Hardaker (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Sound recordist: Harrison Sharp (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Production design assistant: Lizzie Dingle (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Bala
Director: Deborah Brown (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Writer: Melissa Lee Speyer
Producer; Georgia Noe O’Brien
Cinematographer: Meg White
Production/costume designer: Emma Rose White
Editor: Anthony Watson
Composer: Steve Francis
Sound designer: Oliver Brighton
Sound recordists: Tahira Donohoe-Bales, Rowan Yeomans
Boom operator: Nathaniel Keesing
First assistant camera: Brendan Blacklock
Second assistant camera/data wrangler: Tom Phillips
Underwater cinematographer: Nays Baghai
First assistant director: Holly Fraser
Continuity: Sarah Vaughan, William Hadinata
Production assistant: Andrew Fraser
Gaffer: John Domeney
Grip: Patrick Butler
Lighting assistant: Terri Ferreira
Production design assistant: Nicki Brancatisano
Hair and makeup artist: Jade Diaz
WHS risk assessment: Kieran Cato at Cato Logistics
Safety officer: Ben Toyer
Stills photographer: Trudi Gultom
Colourist: Greg Constantaras at Heckler
Barnacle Face
Writer/director: Jean-David Le Goullon (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Producers: Alex Linder (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019), Kaitlyn McMurtry
Cinematographer/editor: Gus O’brien Cavanough (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Production designer/costume designer: Evie Friedrich (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Composer: Chrysoulla Markoulli
Sound supervisor/music mixer: Alex Linder
Sound recordist: Ruby Bonnett (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Boom operator: Lilliane Ford, Vincent Nguyen, Tom Ward
First assistant camera: Uday Alexander, Aemon Barzanji, Rishi Le Hunte Golembiewski (Current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student)
Second assistant camera: Michael Sheppard
First assistant directors: Jordan Brand, Will Lane, Kaitlyn McMurtry
Continuity: Alex Linder, Eli Potter (Current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student)
Gaffer: Rishi Le Hunte Golembiewski
Prosthetic artists: Melina Allan, Grace Brighton-Hall (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
SFX and makeup artist: Melinda Allan
Makeup assistant: Brooke Jones
Additional SFX: Ruby Bonnett, Evie Friedrich
WHS risk assessment: Alex Linder
Stills photographers: Rishi Le Hunte Golembiewski, Alex Linder
ADR: Ruby Bonnett
Titles/graphics artists: Jean-David Le Goullon, Evie Friedrich
VFX artist: Tom Ward
Colourist: Roger Stonehouse (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Poster designer: Anabelle Silk
Brunch Shift Massacre
Director/writer/actor: Adam Boys (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Producer: Tim Graham (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Cinematographer: Roger Stonehouse (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Sound supervisor: Nathaniel Watkins
Sound recordist: Lara Cross
Editor: David Devjak
Production designer: Oliver Levi Malouf (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Digital effects: David Devjak, Chris Downey
Practical effects: Gabriel Medina-Blackman(Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Elagabalus
Director/editor: Xanthe Dobbie (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Writer/continuity: Samuel Herriman (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Story: Xanthe Dobbie, Samuel Herriman (both Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Producer: Alexis Talbot-Smith (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Cinematographer: Sidat de Silva (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Composer: Jorde Heys (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Production designers: Lily Bennet (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017; Foundation Diploma, 2013), Max Boutwell Draper (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Costume designer: William Tran (Graduate Certificate Screen: Editing, 2018; Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Sound designer/boom operator: Rowan Yeomans (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Sound recordist: Tahira Donohoe-Bales (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
First assistant camera: Jeffrey Truong, Petra Leslie (Second-year Master of Arts Screen: Cinematography student)
Second assistant cameraperson: Nicola Kirkby
Camera operator/third electrics: Eduardo Castello
First assistant director: Archie Chew (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Second assistant director: Didi de Graaf (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Production and unit manager: Gita Raju
Production assistants: Alicia Easaw-Mamutil (Master of Arts Screen, 2019), Jeremy Heddle, Kate Searle, Danielle Stamoulos
Gaffer: Martin Perrott
Key grips: Tony Bosch, Kristian Bruneteau
Standby props: Jayden Chessells (Bachelor of Arts (Screen) 2017; Foundation Diploma, 2014)
Art department assistants: Charlotte Van Ewyk, Calum Wilson-Austin
Costume assistants: Rachael Williams, Brooke Harnett
Makeup/hair supervisor: Jade Diaz
SFX/makeup artist: Adeline Li
Makeup assistants: Andrew Annas, Erin Jayne, Emily McDonnell, Bianca Tamanini
Still photographers: Jamie McVicker (Master of Arts Screen, 2019), Lexy Potts
Assistant editor: Hannah Smith (Diploma in Editing, 2017)
Preproduction VFX supervisor: Andrew Brown (Master of Arts Screen, 2019; Advanced Diploma in Visual Effects, 2017)
Colourist: Yanni Kronenberg
Score producer: Cameron Patrick
Music mixer: Greir Gunnerson
Sound mixer: John Hresc
Assistant score editor: Noah Heys
Head Spins
Writer/director: Orla Doyle (Current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student)
Producer: Amber Liebenow
Cinematographer: Rachel Gammel (Current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student)
First assistant director: Annabel Mills (Current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student)
Editor: Peter Skinner (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Sound recordist: William Hanson (Current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student)
Invisible
Writer/director/producer: Jacob Melamed (Graduate Certificate Screen: Directing, 2018)
Music: Luke Bertoz (Graduate Certificate Screen: Music, 2018)
Cinematographer: Joel Rasmussen (Graduate Certificate Screen: Cinematography, 2018)
Editor: Sam Grammer (Graduate Certificate Screen: Editing, 2018)
Assistant director: Graig D. Foster (Graduate Certificate Screen: Directing, 2018)
2nd AD: Rosanna Scarcella (Graduate Certificate Screen: Directing, 2018)
Assistant camera: Camile Baldassari (Graduate Certificate Screen: Cinematography, 2018; Diploma in Camera, 2017)
Like How I Remember
Writer/director: Brittany Xu (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Producers: Mimi Rosenbaum (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019), Claire Ma (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Cinematographer/colourist: Serena Siow (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Production and costume designer: Aileen Fang
Editor: Courtney Mallon (current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student)
Original sound: Hanna Holford
Sound designer: Rowan Yeomans (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Sound recordist: Tahira Donohoe-Bales (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
First assistant director: Sally Cattle (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Production Assistant: William Fargas
Assistant camera: Rachel Gammel (Current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student), Tatjana Hamilton (current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student)
Gaffers: Lucca Barone Peters (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2019), Julian Pertout (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Lighting Assistants: Bronte Nener (current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student), Otto Khoo (Current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student)
Production design assistants: Vanessa Phang, Isabella Wang
Hair and makeup artist: Tania Strange
Stills photographers: Joey Wells, Sara Indraputri
Lost Boy
Director/writer: Peter Skinner (Master of Arts Screen, 2019; Graduate Diploma in Directing, 2013)
Producers: Susannah Wolff, David Shyegun (Graduate Certificate Screen: Creative Producing, 2018)
Cinematographers: Calum Riddell (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Production Design: Michael Price (Graduate Diploma in Production Design, 2012)
Editors: Jarrod Young (Graduate Certificate Screen: Editing, 2018), Peter Skinner
Script editor/continuity/stills photographer: Orla Doyle (current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student)
Script consultants: Damien Higginbotham (Master of Arts Screen, 2019; Graduate Certificate in Screenwriting Fundamentals, 2013), Lachlan Marks (Graduate Certificate Screen: Screenwriting, 2018)
Camera operator: James McVicker (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
1st AD: Archie Chew (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
3rd AD: Alicia Easaw-Mamutil (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Continuity: Jeremy Nicholas (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Standby props: Belle Blamey (Graduate Diploma in Production Design, 2013)
Set dressers: Alexandra Muir (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018), Eirena Sapounas (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
My First Panic
Director/writer: Michaela Holmes (Master of Arts Screen, 2018)
Producers: Gia Frino (Master of Arts Screen: Business and Leadership, 2019; Graduate Certificate Screen: Creative Producing, 2017; Advanced Diploma in Screenwriting: Feature Film, 2016), Alexis Talbot-Smith (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Cinematographer: Ehran Edwards (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Sound supervisor: John Hresc
Editor: Jessie Hildebrand (Master of Arts Screen, 2018; Graduate Diploma in Editing, 2011)
Production designer: Laura Anna Lucas (Master of Arts Screen, 2018)
Necktie
Writer/director: Jeremy Nicholas (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Producer: Lauren Clair (Master of Arts Screen, 2018)
Cinematographer: Sidat de Silva (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
First assistant director: Peter Skinner (Master of Arts Screen, 2019; Graduate Diploma in Directing, 2013)
Third assistant director: David Luff (current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student)
Continuity: Orla Doyle (current Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student) and Samuel Herriman (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Boom operator: Cy Norman (Advanced Diploma in Production Sound, 2018)
Unit manager: Alicia Easaw-Mamutil (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
VFX artist: Yathi Kidambi (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Colourist: Jaclyn Paterson (Diploma in Grading, 2017)
Sunburn
Director: Jaslyn Mairs (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Screenwriter/unit manager: Claudia Bailey (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Producers: Ben Bauchet (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019) and Lev Jutsen (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Story: Jaslyn Mairs
Cinematographer: Gabriel Morrison (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Production designer/costume designer Sidonie Pitot (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Sound recordist: Tahira Donohoe-Bales (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Editor: Angus Roche (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Continuity: Vanessa Bray (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Sound designer/sound mixer: Aidan Jessup (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Colourist: Roger Stonehouse (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
The End, The Beginning
Director: Archie Chew (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Producer: Alicia Easaw-Mamutil (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Writer: Samuel Herriman (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Concept: Samuel Herriman, Archie Chew, Alicia Easaw-Mamutil
Cinematographer: Nick Najdov (Master of Arts Screen, 2019; Diploma in Camera, 2017)
Production designer: Brianna Patrice Russel
Editor: Xanthe Dobbie (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Composer: Jorde Heys (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Sound designer and mixer/foley engineer: Nathan Turnbull
Production managers: Sal Balharrie, Felicity Sculthorpe, Gabrielle Ferguson
First assistant directors: Julian Ryan, Emma Jamvold, Lynn-Maree Danzey
Second assistant director: Sal Balharrie
Third assistant director: Peter Skinner (Master of Arts Screen, 2019; Graduate Diploma in Directing, 2013)
Continuity: Samuel Herriman (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Locations managers: Gabrielle Ferguson, Gary Pole
Production assistants: Vincent Power, Alec Wilson, Nathan Cleary
Costume supervisor: Frances Harvey
Costume assistant: Sue Bateman
Make up artists: Erin Leite and Jade Diaz
Art department assistant: Mel-Annie Turner-Carlin
Sound recordists: Tahira Donohoe-Bales (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018), Jeremy Nicholas (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Boom operator: Blake Williams
First assistant camera: Bebi Zekirovski (Graduate Certificate Screen: Cinematography, 2017; Diploma in Camera Fundamentals, 2016)
Second assistant camera: Jamie McVicker (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Gaffer: Aaron Ashwood
Grip: Tony Bosch
Best boy: Vincent Power
Grip assistant: Jeremy Nicholas (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Assistant editor: Hannah Smith (Diploma in Editing, 2017)
Colourist: Michael Angelis (Graduate Certificate Screen: Cinematography, 2017)
Stills photographer: Mark Chew
On-set illustrator: Judith Chew
Music mixer/recording engineer: Greir Gunnerson
Score producer: Cameron Patrick
Foley artist: Sam Grimshaw
The Familiars
Director: Millie Malcolm (Graduate Certificate Screen: Directing, 2018)
Screenwriter: Octavia B. Martin (Graduate Certificate Screen: Screenwriting, 2018; Advanced Diploma in Script Editing and Development, 2017; Advanced Diploma in Screenwriting: Feature Film, 2016)
Story by: Octavia B. Martin, Alexis Talbot-Smith (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Producer: Alexis Talbot-Smith
Cinematographer: Calum Ridell (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Production designers: Lily Bennett (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017), Max Boutwell Draper (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017).
Editor: Xanthe Dobbie (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Original Music by Jorde Heys (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Costume Designer: Laura McGenniss (Foundation Diploma, 2011)
First assistant cameras: James McVicker (Master of Arts Screen, 2019), James Ward-Miller (Graduate Certificate Screen: Cinematography, 2018)
Sound Recordist: Tahira Donohoe-Bales (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Continuity: William Hadinata (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018), Samuel Herriman, Master of Arts Screen, 2019
Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
Writer/director: Erika Felton (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Producer: Mariella Solano (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Cinematographer/colourist: Roger Stonehouse (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Production designer/costume designer: Sidonie Pitot (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Editor: Jaslyn Mairs (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Composer: Ben Bauchet (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Sound supervisor/ sound recordist: Steve Khoury (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
First assistant director: Mimi Rosenbaum (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Titles/graphics artist: James Edwards
