After receiving nearly 18,000 votes, the Sydney Film Festival has tallied the scores for their annual Audience Awards.
Taking out Best Australian Narrative Feature is alumni made thriller Birdeater.
‘A bride-to-be is invited to her own fiancé’s buck’s party, but when uncomfortable details about their relationship are exposed, the night takes a feral turn.’
That ‘feral turn’ had audiences turning heads all over town. So much so, that one of the three sold-out screenings had to be upgraded to the main cinema at Randwick Ritz, with 700 film lovers turning up to support it. Made by a crew nearly entirely comprised of 2018 Bachelor of Arts: Screen Production alumni, the film was co-written and directed by Jack Clark and Jim Weir. It was produced by Stephanie Troost and Ulysses Oliver from Breathless Films. It was shot by Roger Stonehouse and cut by Ben Anderson with an original score from Andreas Dominguez. The success of Birdeater is a welcome acknowledgement of the hard work and creative tenacity shown by this first time feature making team, and an encouraging example of the alchemy that film makers can find in any course of study at AFTRS.
Jack and Jim said of the film “Birdeater is an unapologetic look at how Australia’s iconic masculine identity has become incompatible with contemporary gender politics. Baptised by the likes of Wake in Fright during our formative years at the Australian Film Television and Radio School, we struggled to reconcile the classic male image on our screens with the men we knew around us. The rough outback larrikin seems to have become our own Man With No Name – a mythological figment of our collective, colonised imagination that does not access the truth of our complex community.”
Closely following suit, runner up The Big Dog was written and directed by Dane McCusker. A comedy developed by the Masters Class of 2021, this feature was also bolstered by a crew of AFTRS alumni. With support from Claudia Shepard who co-produced with Jessica Murphy, the film was shot by Oliver Hay, with production design by Caley Miles and music from Sam Weiss. Edited by Jarrod Young with sound design from Jonathan Mendoliccio.
The intriguing synopsis saw The Big Dog also sell out three screenings during the festival. ‘When a married Sydney stockbroker with a financial domination fetish has his bank accounts drained by his “findom” mistress, he has but a day to save his life from ruin. Screwball comedy and corrosive social commentary are the juicy ingredients of a very modern tale that unfolds one sunny day in upper middle-class Aussie suburbia.’
Composer Sam Weiss had “THE MOST fun composing the score for this hilarious film. When a director like Dane asks each of the key creatives to be as creative and bold as possible, this is a dream brief. And so it was – Dane and I set about producing the off-kilter, tense sound that will make you feel… well… off-kilter and tense.”
Also picking up awards at this year’s festival are the below alumni:
Alec Green (BA Screen Production, 2021) – co-director and writer of Yoram Gross Animation Award winner Teacups
Jack McAvoy (Grad Dip Cinematography, 2012) – cinematographer of Dendy Live Action Short Award winner The Dancing Girl and the Balloon Man.
Benjamin Speed (Grad Dip Screen Composition, 2008) composed music for The Defenders which won Best Documentary.
We look forward to what comes next for these exceptional films, and congratulate the teams behind them.
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