Page 1 - Sydney Film School

NEWS
SFS NEWS 18 Nov 2011
“It’s great if people
have mixed feelings
about work because
it means the work
is alive. I don’t
think theatre
should always be
easy to consume. It
should be a difficult
and delicious
pleasure. It’s an
insult to the
audience to think
you should pander
to them or make it
easy.”
(Benedict Andrews,
Australian theatre
director)
28th sydney film school
newsletter
RTO no: 91074 CRICOS 02631G VET Provider: 7147
EDITORIAL
The days of the year flew by…. December is around the corner and we invite you to the
15th SFS Festival.
There are 81 short films (both dramas and documentaries) being produced at our
school at the moment and you will be able to see them all over two full festival days on December 14th & 15th at the Chauvel Cinema in Paddington. The very special
keynote speaker at the festival’s Awards Screening Night is Australian legendary director Paul Cox.
A couple of weeks before the festival we will be holding a Diploma of Screen & Media
Information Night at our school. Visit us on Wednesday November 30 at 6pm to meet
some of our teachers and find out all you would like to know about our course.
On the next few pages you can find out more about:
Short thesis animation ‘Red and Green’ by Geoffrey Abeshouse, winner of the
Children’s Choice award at the Sapporo Film Festival and Market in Japan.
Matt Cooney, our 2010 graduate who was awarded the Best Student Film Award at the
inaugural Antenna International Film Festival held in Sydney in early October.
The latest news from the Sandfly Film Festival where SFS produced film ‘Camera
Obscura’ won Best International Film Award, thesis film ‘Reflection’ by Kyle Sellers took
home Best Performance Award (Sarah Jane Coombe) and the Secret Film Society
produced ‘Why We Trade’ was voted best by the audience in its screening session.
The Bondi Shorts Film Festival announced the 14 finalists for 2011. Chosen from over 200
submissions, the finalists represent some of Australia’s most talented independent
filmmakers. Two films produced at the Sydney Film School have been selected to
screen – thesis film ‘Berry Bliss’ by Andrew Pearce and part 2 major drama ‘Letters
Home’ directed by Neilesh Verma.
Short drama ‘Done’, directed by Andrea Brandao in 2008, has been chosen to screen
on Brazilian TV channel Canal Brasil.
‘This is Roller Derby’, a feature documentary by our 2005 graduate Daniel Hayward, has
been released through Titan View.
2008 graduate Benjamin Zadig won two awards at the Australian Cinematographers
Society 2011 NSW/ACT State Awards: a gold ASC award in the Fictional Drama Shorts
category for ‘Sven: Den Sista Galaxanaut’ and the Student Film Category Gold for ‘Six
Seventeen’.
In the Interview corner we spoke to Kyle Sellers about his thesis film ‘Reflection’ and to
Karolina Malinowska about ‘5th Stage’, a film she directed in 2010. Our interns from
Sweden Carolina Ljunggren and Emma Karlsson talk about the craft of film make-up.
And a special treat….Our Diploma of Screen & Media Co-ordinator Uracha Oliver
brings us a lovely story about visiting Thailand and meeting with our Thai graduates.
Enjoy!
RTO no: 91074 CRICOS 02631G VET Provider: 7147
IMPORTANT SCHOOL DATES
28 Nov • • Close of Applications for the Advanced Diploma of Screen & Media
30 Nov • • Diploma of Screen & Media INFORMATION NIGHT, 6pm start
14 & 15 Dec • • 15th SFS Festival (Chauvel Cinema, Paddington)
10 Feb • • Close of Applications for the Diploma of Screen & Media
15 Feb • • Orientation Day for Diploma and Advanced Diploma Courses
20 Feb • • Commencement Date for Diploma and Advanced Diploma Courses
keep up with ‘THIS LIFE’
The 11th annual Bondi Short
Film Festival has announced
the 14 finalists for 2011.
Chosen from over 200 submissions, the finalists represent some of Australia’s most
talented independent filmmakers.
SFS STUDENT WINS AUSTRALIAN STUDENT DOCO COMPETITION
Short film ‘Ol’ Blue Eyes’ about
Sydney’s taxi driver Zachary
(Zac) Kryuchkov won the Best
Student Documentary Film
Award at the inaugural
Antenna International Documentary Film Festival!
Two films produced at the Sydney Film
School (one in the second half of 2010
and the other in the first half of 2011)
have been selected to screen – thesis
film ‘Berry Bliss’ by Andrew Pearce and
part 2 major drama ‘Letters Home’
directed by Neilesh Verma.
The Sydney Film School produced documentary, directed and produced by
Matt Cooney, takes us on a ride with
Sydney’s biggest entertainer, a Ukranian
taxi driver and a classically trained
singer.
“This film is a reminder that stories are all
around us... even in taxi's,” said the
student competition judges Rebecca
Barry, David Optiz and Maya Newell
about their decision. “Ol' Blue Eyes has a
unique and intriguing character that
captivated us and the audience. The
filmmaker’s knack of allowing the story
to unfold created beautiful authentic
moments of humour and poignancy.
Craft wise the single shot, active
interview in the taxi allowed us into his
world in an intimate way.”
In only 10 minutes the documentary
offers a clever mix of lightheartedness,
humour and the genuinely, bittersweet
experience Zac has had in moving
countries.
“I think everyone can relate in their own
way to both the sacrifices he has made
and his determination to never give up
his dream,” says director Cooney who
was surprised and delighted to win the
award. “There were some fantastic
documentaries in the competition, so I
feel very privileged,” he said.
BONDI SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
“Zac is such a genuine, warm, glowing
human being and I think he just shines
through. In many ways my job was to get
out of his light.”
“We all have impossible dreams and
what I learned from my subject is that
you cannot afford to be bitter or angry
just because you can't always get what
you want. Despite his obvious frustrations
Zac is a man at peace with the world.”
‘Ol’ Blue Eyes’ was produced as part of
the Sydney Film School Diploma of
Screen & Media course and had its
premiere in July 2010.
“Each year we are blown away by the
exceptional quality of submissions and
2011 is no different,” commented Bondi
Short Film Festival director, Francis
Coady. “It was really difficult to choose
just 14 finalists from so many amazing
films. I’m really looking forward to
presenting the final selections to our
audience.”
Directed by Andrew Pearce ‘Berry Bliss’
is a seemingly innocent film that follows
the light-hearted adventure of a bunch
of balloons that travel through the
picturesque countryside. However, this
beautifully looking short film will surprise
you!
Made in a thesis film class where each
student is encouraged to go on a
keep up with ‘THIS LIFE’
personal and fulfilling journey of discovery, to investigate a compelling
cinematic issue, question of style, or technical challenge, ‘Berry Bliss’ explores the
manipulative power of filmmakers in a
subversive and comedic fashion.
India who struggles to adapt to his new
found homeland in Sydney, Australia.
Things seem to change when he meets
Tara, a local, at the convenience store
where he works.
“My main intention behind Berry Bliss was
to shock the audience, achieving this by
calming the viewers into a false sense of
security, then rudely surprising them with
an abrasive turn in events,” says Andrew.
The 6 minutes long film premiered at the
13th SFS Festival in December 2010
winning Best Screenplay and Best
Cinematography Award. Since then it
screened at various local festivals including Queenland’s premiere short film
festival Shorts on the Green, where it was
the Runner-up for Best Film award.
“I come from a sub continental background, my parents immigrated to
Australia over 25 years ago when I was
just a kid and the journey they went
through, literally uprooting and leaving
everything they have known, leaving
their comfort zones to come to another
country was something I always
admired,” says Neilesh about the
inspiration for his film.
“I often find that same journey taking
place with the international students
that are trying to make a home for
themselves in Australia and couldn’t
help but see the similarities between
them and my parents in many respects.
The film is essentially a homage to the
notion that home doesn’t always have
to be a romanticised “far away place” it
can be in the here and now, where one
feels they want to be.”
A topical short drama film, ‘Letters Home’
was written, directed and produced by
the following semester student Neilesh
Verma as a 15 minutes long Major Drama
project with a crew of 12 fellow students.
In Punjabi and English this film follows Jas,
an isolated international student from
“The film was also envisioned as an ode
to a side of Sydney that is largely unspoken. I wanted to tell the story of the
people that work behind the scenes,
the quiet underbelly that drives the taxis
and mans the 24 hour convenience
stores, often their stories go unnoticed
and I wanted people to have an insight
into their lives and their quiet struggles.”
“I wasn’t entirely sure how well a film
about international students from
India living in Sydney would go down
with the public, the subject matter
some said wasn’t exciting enough, but
when people tell me just how insightful
and poignant they find the film to be,
it validates for me just how important it
was to tell this story and really makes
the whole journey my crew and I went
through worthwhile.”
‘Letters Home’ was one of Neilesh’s
first forays into directing drama which
as he said made “the whole process in
itself rewarding”, but if he was to
pinpoint certain things that stood out
for him he’d say that being able to
illicit the exact performances he
wanted from his actors was personally
the most fulfilling thing. “Also seeing
my crew go above and beyond their
respective duties and take time out of
their busy schedules to help with the
film even when they didn’t have to,
this was by far the most heart warming
and encouraging thing to have come
out of the production.”
Stunning performances by the 3 main
actors (Madeleine Levins, Bali Padda
and Andrew Sudiro) won Neilesh the
Best Director award at the 14th SFS
Festival held in July this year.
“Performance is my favorite element
of film and I really enjoy working with
actors. In the case of Letters Home I
was lucky enough to have worked
with three incredibly giving and committed actors that felt strongly about
the script and most importantly
wanted to be part of the film for the
right reasons. Whilst casting I was
always looking for elements of the
characters in the script to be naturally
present in the actors playing them and
I was also looking for people I knew I
could get along with on set. This is by
far one of the most important things for
me. I need to know I can rely on an
actor when the going gets tough and
it often does!”
keep up with ‘THIS LIFE’
Both ‘Berry Bliss’ and ‘Letters Home’ will
screen at the Bondi Short Film Festival
(Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach) on Saturday, November 26th. “It feels rather
special to have the film screened at a
festival like Bondi,” says Neilesh. “I know
from previous experience just how
difficult it is to get a film into any film
festival, so to be accepted into something as prestigious as Bondi is beyond
anything I had hoped for. I truly hope
people appreciate all the hard work our
crew and actors put into the film and it’s
a great feeling knowing they are getting
the recognition they deserve!”
WEB: www.bondishortfilmfestival.com
CHILDREN'S CHOICE
The short animation ‘Red And
Green’ made at Sydney Film
School in 2010 has won the
Children's Choice Award Gold
at the prestigious Sapporo
International Short Film Festival and Market, the only short
film festival & market in
Japan.
22-year old Geoffrey Abeshouse
directed, animated and produced the
film as part of his thesis film class to tell
the story of the anguish and troubles of
a streetlight. Essentially as he describes,
this is a film “about the relationships
which take place between the walk
and stop people at street crossing
lights”.
Fun and entertaining, the film won the
children’s laughs at the 6th Sapporo
Short Fest where it screened amongst
another 77 short films from around the
world. The 78 films were selected out of
a total of 2,291 films submitted from 88
countries and regions.
Since 2006 Sapporo Short Fest offers
various opportunities to help people find
the real values of short films, which are
intriguing, funny and moving, with the
stories depicting the essence of love
and life.
A GREAT WEEKEND GETAWAY
For the second year in a row
the Sandfly Film Festival
transformed a beautiful Jervis
Bay into the home of high
quality short film cinema.
Sydney Film School thesis
‘Camera Obscura’ won the
Best
International
Film
Award (the film was written
and directed by our Portuguese student Marta Maia)
and the Best Performance
award went to Sarah Jane
Coombe for her role in ‘Reflection’ (thesis film by graduate
Kyle Sellers).*
The Festival is a venue to promote intercultural understanding and friendships,
a cultural climate that so warmly
receives the young, multi-talented
filmmakers from around the world, and
helps develop many filmmakers of the
next generation.
The Sapporo Short Fest serves as a
vehicle for developing the short film
industry through creating new and
innovative avenues for short films and
the promotion of short film sales for
digital distribution.
WEB: www.sapporoshortfest.jp/en/
Sandfly Film Festival Audience Award went to
the Secret Film Society produced ‘Why We Trade”
Taking place on November 12th the
Sandfly Film Festival showed 36 short
films from around the world. Altogether
six Sydney Film School produced films
(Part 2 Major Drama ‘Letters Home’
and Thesis films ‘Diogenes’, ‘Reflection’, ‘The Trip’, ‘Broken Wings’ and
‘Camera Obscura’) were selected to
screen at the historic Huskisson Pictures
Theatre located in the picturesque
small town of Huskisson on the shores of
beautiful Jervis Bay, approximately 180
km south of Sydney.
Selected were also 4 Secret Film
Society (graduate) films: ‘Liminal’,
‘Magpie’, ‘Why We Trade’ and ‘TGIF’,
* Interview with Kyle Sellers about ‘Reflection’ can be found on page 12
keep up with ‘THIS LIFE’
a short film ‘Kelly’s Blues’ by our Screen
Studies and Meet The Filmmaker
teacher Peter Galvin and a short film
‘The Good Neighbour’ by graduate
James Crisp. ‘Why We Trade’ by
Michael McLennan took home the
Session 3 Audience Award.
Being organised by Marshmallow
Productions, a small studio based
partnership of artists, dedicated to
fostering emerging and professional
film-making talent, SandFly Film Festival
is not only creating a new forum for
filmmakers to show their films but also to
share their experience of filmmaking
with the audience and other filmmakers
aiming to create a lasting and active
network of film artists.
DONE ON CANAL BRASIL
Brazilian TV channel Canal
Brasil picked Sydney Film
School short drama ‘Done’ to
screen in their program in
2011, 2012 and 2013.
‘Done’ was made in Sydney Film
School in the second half of 2008 as
a Part 2 Major Drama project and
earned its director Andrea Brandao
the Chairman’s Award in recognition
of outstanding vision and achievement in filmmaking.
Andrea (in the middle) with fellow SFS students
in 2008
The quality of the film was recognised
by the Vancouver International Film
Festival (the largest cultural event in
Canada) where the film screened in
October 2009 alongside feature and
short films from all around the word.
This year’s program included an engaging assortment of dramas, comedies,
animations and music videos screening
throughout 5 different sessions. The
festival director Ulysses Oliver says he is
“very excited about the depth and
range of films in this year's program. The
selections were in line with the festival’s
vision to promote quality grassroots
film-making.
Films
that
entertain,
engage, and push boundaries.”
At the end of last year the national
Brazilian TV channel TV Cultura showed
‘Done’ in a program called Zoom (a
program about independent filmmaking and short films directed by Brazilian
artists).
“We have mixed up the program so we
go from light to shade, from still to high
energy, from drama to comedy, from
serious short to light hearted music
video. There was something in there for
everyone in every session,” says Ulysses.
WEB: www.sandflyfilmfestival.com
“What I wanted to show when I wrote
this script was the search for fulfillment
of an ordinary man” says Andrea.
Simon’s story reveals “how the creative
process and an achievement can be
so self consuming and intense, but at
the same time valuable and worthwhile as life can not be without it.”
Shortly after, Andrea was approached
by another national TV channel Canal
Brasil wanting to buy rights to screen
Done 24 times in the next 3 years. The
first screenings took place on October
17th and 18th this year.
Described as delicate, sensitive and
inspiring the 11 minutes long film
about the process, feelings and
consequences of bringing imagination to life follows Simon, an average
man who struggles to find inspiration
to express himself, and Jack, a little
boy replete of imagination and
determination, who aims for attention.
To find out more visit
http://canalbrasil.globo.com/
* Interview with Kyle Sellers about ‘Reflection’ can be found
keep up with ‘THIS LIFE’
short corner: extra news snaps
• ‘This is Roller Derby’, a feature documentary by our 2005 graduate Daniel
Hayward has been released through
Titan View. Filmed over 12 months,
‘This Is Roller Derby’ is a colourful and
action packed documentary examining the cultural phenomenon of
modern roller derby; a full contact
sport played by women on roller
skates.
While studying at the Sydney Film
School, Daniel Hayward produced
and directed the award winning short
‘Troy’, which has screened all over the
world including Melbourne, Brisbane,
New York, Chicago, Byron Bay. It won
best documentary short at the South
Florida film festival. In 2006, Daniel
worked as assistant director on the
feature film ‘Men’s Group’, winner of
the Digispaa, Spaartan Awards and
also won Best Film, Best Actor and Best
Script at the 2008 Inside Film Awards.
Since then Daniel has worked in the
Australian film and television industry
in various capacities on commercials,
television series, BTS documentaries
and music videos. ‘This is Roller Derby’
is Daniel’s first feature film as
producer/director under his production company Aisle 5 Pictures.
www.thisisrollerderby.com/index.html
• ‘The Good Neighbour’, a short film
written and directed by SFS graduate
James Crisp won the Silver Yowie award
at the inaugural Blue Mountains Film
Festival.
SFS graduates on the set of The Good Neighbour
• Short film ‘The Moustache’ directed by
graduate Johan Rosell and DOP’d by
graduate Niclas Tornblom, about a young
man in search for the thief of his precious
moustache, screened at the Uppsala
International Film Festival, the only Academy Award qualifying short film festival in
Sweden.
Moustache has been made in Sweden earlier this year
• 2010 thesis film ‘Camera Obscura’, a
stunning stop-frame animation by Marta
Maia screened at the Bright Young Things
Film Festival, a showcase of young undiscovered Australian filmmakers. The
screening included 10 short films by the
best new talent.
• 2008 graduate Ben Zadig won two
Australian Cinematographers Society
awards at the 2011 NSW and ACT State
Awards for Cinematography: Gold in the
Fictional Drama Shorts category for the
film ‘Sven: Den Sista Galaxanaut’ and
Gold in the Student Film Category for the
‘Six Seventeen’.
The Australian Cinematographers Society
(ACS) is a not-for-profit company, limited
by guarantee, that was formed in 1958 for
the purpose of providing a forum for
cinematographers to further develop
their skills through mutual co-operation.
The 2011 NSW and ACT Awards for
Cinematography were held at the Menzies Hotel, Carrington Street, Wynyard,
Sydney on Saturday 12th November 2011.
interview corner
TRAPPED IN A COCOON
In this month’s Interview
Corner we introduce you to
Karolina Malinowska, our
2010 graduate. Karolina and I
spoke about her thesis film
‘5th Stage’ currently screening at festivals worldwide.
Following her dream to further her studies
in film, in 2009 Karolina Malinowska
moved from native Poland to Sydney. It
was a dream that required a brave decision and inevitable change. What about
the dreams we do not follow up on or the
people who do not follow their dreams?
In the second half of her course at the
Sydney Film School Karolina attempted to
answer this and some other related questions. She wrote and directed a short
thesis film ‘5th Stage’, a psychological
drama about 44-years old Daniel – a
grown-up man living with his parents who
forgot or was not brave enough to follow
his childhood’s dreams.
“Snug like a bug in a rug” Daniel is about
to discover that nothing ever stays the
same. Things change, whether we want it
or whether we are ready for it or not.
“I wanted to make a film about my
experiences but changes do not
affect only me. They are inevitable
aspects of life,” says Karolina. “Some
of them are physical, some psychological, some spiritual but they always
leave a trace contributing to the
development of the individual.”
It is a simple wooden toy hanging
down from the ceiling that reminds
Daniel of what he really wants, pushes
him to find something within himself
that he forgot a long time ago, and to
realize what he has to do in order to
live the way he should.
Is he ready for action, ready for
change?
in our existence. Aging, getting mature
is one of those topics which I would like
to talk about in my films. Everyone is
changing day after day, but we do not
seem to notice that. We say:’ I have
time.’ Then one day you stand in front
of a mirror and here you are, the same
but somehow CHANGED. “
Expressed in a highly stylized way and
inspired by David Lynch’s ‘Eraserhead’,
the concept of Karolina’s thesis film is
based on five stages of moth transformation in relation to five stages of
human grief: anger, denial, bargaining,
depression and acceptance.
Throughout the film we see Daniel lying
in his bed in striped black and white
pyjamas. His overbearing mother is
constantly over him, his disconnected
father is talking to walls using a particular kind of a “telephone”. Daniel is
trapped but also motionless, action
less. He needs to break through. But will
the transformation he is about to go
through end with development of an
“improved” Daniel? Will he be able to
get out of the cocoon (literally)
created by his parental upbringing
and maybe his own inability to act
against the predisposed state of
affairs?
“Is anyone ever really able to stand up
straight and say ‘Yes…. I want change
to occur in my life, because I am
ready for it.’ We all know it does not
work like that. It just happens.”
“Daniel is a romantic, introvert, sensitive, sometimes helpless creature.
Anti- hero really. There is a moment in
the film where the audience sees that
he is trapped but he does not realize
that. Then one incident takes place
and he slowly starts realizing what kind
of situation he got himself into. I
wanted to focus on changes that are
not that vivid at the beginning but as
time passes they become very crucial
“I wanted to explore whether changes,
people are faceted with all their lives,
end with a positive, better and developed ‘new self’. I am raising a question
of how much of what shapes us in
childhood we carry with us all the time.
interview corner
Thus, how much parental influence
pushes us towards transformation. Can
changes help us disconnect from the
family roots in order to free ourselves
from the domestic constraints?”
Rachel, Daniel’s mum is an archetype
of an overprotective mother traumatised by the fact of ‘losing’ her beloved
son. Daniel’s father, on the other hand,
is a typical family provider who stays
apparently uninvolved in Daniel’s
upbringing. Still, his voice is the last one
Daniel hears before the metamorphosis.
“There is a paradox that usually people
that are helping us are not those who
pat us on the head but those who do
not pity us and kick us in the ass. Father
is unable to communicate with his son,
but he understands that his son needs
to change, cause this is the natural way
of life. This is what father didn’t do
himself properly and that is why he is
stuck with Daniel’s mother in this toxic
environment. He did not have the guts
to change. He wants a different future
for his son, no matter what the
outcome is going to be.”
By the end of the film Daniel undergoes
psychological and physical metamorphosis that finishes with him becoming
a moth. In the final scene we see the
moth trapped in the jar but we also see
the light bulb flickering above him.
“I had a lot of conversations about how
I present freedom in my film. For many
people the character is trapped and
enclosed. For some, he goes from one
imprisonment to another.
In a way, that was my intention. If you
think about it, I do transform my character into something that does not live
long. Butterflies live for only a few days.
However, this is how I perceive
freedom. We sometimes fight for things
in our lives for a very long time, so that
we could enjoy them for only a few
seconds.”
“At the end of the film you are
supposed to see Daniel, transformed
‘free’ in his new self. However, I wanted
to show another layer, a layer that he
may not see, he does not have to. He
may not be aware he is closed in a jar,
but only you as a viewer know about
it.”
The 5th stage in Daniel’s metamorphosis is Acceptance. Could it be that
Daniel reached his emotional / spiritual
freedom by accepting his ‘imprisonment’? Aren’t we all, at the end of the
day, ‘trapped’ in some way or the
other. Be it by our parents, the country
of our birth, our social status, our physical or mental abilities.
“I know it from my own experience that
acceptance is the most important but
at the same time the most difficult
stage in self-development. I was myself
always swimming against the current.
Passionately trying to stay on the
surface and grabbing everything to
help myself swim against what wasn’t
the real me. I am swimming with the
current now…. I think I am not a caterpillar anymore, not in the cocoon
either…. I think I am still learning to
fly…”
One of the first inspirations for Karolina’s
thesis was a verse mothers say to their
children: ‘I will tuck you in like a bug in
a rug’. “The very fact that mothers are
saying that line seemed very interesting
to me. I thought “hmmm bug = caterpillar + rug = cocoon”. This is how it all
started and this is hence one of the first
scenes in the film.”
Creating Cocoon
“My Production Designer, a fellow SFS
student Agnieszka Baginska was
definitely on the same brain wave of
thinking about this film as I was. During
endless conversations we were brainstorming all aspects of the design: How
the cocoon should look like? How to
make it? How does the room look like?
Etc. I have to say the cocoon looked
better than I have imagined it. It
looked like a living thing. Agnieszka is a
very talented filmmaker but a great
artist as well. She just perfectly understood the mood of the film.”
Getting messy on the set of the 5th Stage (Production
Designer Agnieszka Baginska and Director Karolina
Malinowska)
The film recently screened at the
BUSHO International Short Film Festival
in Budapest where a jury member
described it as a psychological,
domestic nightmare.
“I myself find it difficult to define it. I
would probably have to use a lot of
words, which still would not be able to
describe this style. It is like with an
abstract painting. It is difficult to
interview corner
describe it, cause its perception
occurs at an emotional, rather than
intellectual level.”
“I was however inspired by the game
of light in film by D. Lynch’s ‘Eraserhead’ and we were shooting on
16mm film to gain a grainy, very rough
look.”
Lynch’s ‘Eraserhead’ also inspired the
idea of the film where characters do
not say too much, everything speaks
for them, everything stands for what
they feel and think.
“I am a big fan of Lynch films. ‘Eraserhead’ just blew me away. I loved the
acting, quirkiness of all characters. For
me, film is this medium, which is
supposed to speak through images.
Actors should open and connect with
the audience through their physicality,
looks, breaths rather than words. There
are films that are to be contemplative
and just be able to enchant you in the
world of image, sounds and music. This
is the magic of film for me.”
“I also paid lots of attention to the
make-up. References for Daniel’s
memorable ‘moth face’ were taken
from one interpretation of Becket’s
‘PLAY’ where actors are trapped in
sorts of urns and their faces are
covered with something what I
wanted to see on Daniel after transformation. The make-up artist MaZ Espiritu
did a great job researching the ‘moth
faces’ and textures of their skin to be
able to reconstruct it on the actor.”
“Important were also the colour
contact lenses, which, for me, were
the most important aspect of the
transformation. The eyes are the
reflections of the soul, and I think they
were reflecting changed insight of the
transformed character.”
The 9 minutes long film was shot over 5
days in a photographic studio, a few
hours away from Sydney. “The whole
crew was isolated from the outside
world for those shooting days. We had
2 days for building the set and we did
the shooting within the next three
days. These were the most crazy, most
intense days in my life so far.”
A minimum dialogue enhanced the
importance of strong performances
which together with sound effects
(such as the ones of squished cherries
while Daniel is being fed by his mother)
managed to create a real claustrophobic, dense, suffocating atmosphere drawing you into the depth of
the story.
“I chose Karan, another SFS student, to
play Daniel. He wasn’t my choice
initially. I had already cast an actor
before Karan, but there were misunderstandings
regarding
Daniel’s
mental health - whether he is mentally
retarded or not. I sat with Karan at
Sydney Film School and I said: ‘Karan
you need to save my film. You will save
my film.’ I did not do a traditional
casting session with him as with other
candidates. I wanted Daniel’s character to act with his eyes. I wanted everything to be accumulated there. Karan
and I lay down with the camera on the
floor at the Sydney Film School cinema.
I remember asking him one question:
’Have you ever suffocated in your life?’
Karan said he had, it was a very physical suffocation he experienced. I knew
we would get something from that.
Through the whole shooting period I
was trying to keep Karan away from
everyone else. He was constantly in his
own world.“
“The actress that played Daniel’s
mother (Adele Johnston) is an opera
singer, so she comes from a background where the performance has to
be ‘out there’, has to be vivid and
strong. Her features are very strong as
well, so I knew that we had to scrape
back that ‘out there’ of her performances. She listened and was very
open to suggestions. I told her that she
needed to look more dangerous when
she is not speaking rather than when
she is.”
“I wanted both her and Daniel’s father
(Brett Nevill) to be disconnected, a little
bit artificial, as in the film they are
filtrated through the main character’s
memories. Although this was not something they were used to, they simply
trusted me. Maybe they were a little bit
sceptical about the way I see performances before going on set. However,
when we were all there and started
blocking everything, it all started to
make more sense to them.”
RTO no: 91074 CRICOS 02631G VET Provider: 7147
interview corner
The most rewarding process of making
the film was “seeing in front of my eyes
something I had seen in my head and
putting it all together in the editing
room”.
“Thanks to my editor Marta Maia, editing
was an amazing process of discovering
this story in a new, fresher light. Working
with her was the most rewarding experience.”
“I’ve spent time working on sound
design in London, where I moved to a
month after graduating SFS and finishing
my thesis film. There I met a very young
but talented sound designer Simon
Herron. From then on the sound design
was happening very ephemerally. We
had met once, and after three drafts of
sound design, I had what is now the final
version in the film.”
“Not only the sound design, but the
music itself constitutes the integral part
of this film. Sydney based Christina Christensen created something very close to
my visions of how I wanted music to
sound like. I think Christina grasped the
feelings, tensions and claustrophobia of
the theme amazingly. “
“Everyone I worked with was amazing
including my devoted and talented
DOP Zach Peel McGregor and there
was a bit of magic as well. One of my
colleagues from school Licia Heydrich
brought me a cocooned caterpillar. I
kept it for a few weeks but nothing
happened. I wanted to throw it away.
Then two days before me going on location I woke up and the cocoon was
empty. There it was sitting on a wall, a
young beautiful moth. I remember
saying: ’Hello Danny.’
THE MIRROR NEVER LIES
‘Reflection’, a film centered
around an aging model on the
tale end of a successful modeling career, recently screened
at the Sandfly Film Festival
winning the award for Best
Performance. SFS graduate
and SFS IAB member Kyle
Sellers wrote and directed the
film as his graduating thesis
project.
Tackling the concept of the
beautiful elite and vanity, the
story revolves around Olivia,
a heart-wrenchingly beautiful
cover girl who wakes one
morning realizing she’s not
going to be that forever. In the
industry based on perfection,
Olivia is learning the hard
way that she’s easily replaceable.
SFS: What inspired the idea to make a
film that deals with these complex
issues and personalities around them?
Kyle: The origin of the idea came from
my own experiences with body image,
but it was my experiences that made
me think of those whose ‘careers’ are
their bodies. We all know the worldrenowned models at the top of the
game, but what about the models who
don’t reach such glitzy heights? What
started as personal curiosity quickly
developed into a concept once I
started researching the topic.
The defining element of the concept
(self-harming) came from my mate’s
fiancé who is a nurse and had
attended to young girls in a psychward. Learning about cutting (the act
of self harming) and the motivations
behind such acts was extremely
disturbing, but a massive eye opener.
SFS: In the thesis film classes students
are encouraged to explore a particular
theme or cinematic concept. Which
theme were you looking into?
Kyle: First and foremost I wanted to
explore the theme of being replaced.
Talk to any model who has had any
form of success in the industry and they
will tell you that you can be out the
door as quick as you came in. There’s
no loyalty, there’s no handouts. Once
you don’t have the look that’s in –
you’re gone.
Throughout the audition period Winnie
(producer) and I were staggered at
how many of the girls had their own
stories of being told they were too old
for the industry - TOO OLD AT 26!
Secondly I really wanted to play off the
theme of naivety. For Olivia (Sarah
Jane Coombe) her life was set in her
early 20’s and in her mind the party was
never going to stop. In the real world
that just isn’t the case. Nothing is
forever and I feel that for a lot of
women who enter the modeling industry that knowledge is never truly
respected. Understandably they’re
young and none of us like to think of
consequences when we’re being
ambitious, but believe me, I work at
Telstra as a casual job and there are a
number of FHM/Ralph models now in
the 9-5 grind. What seemed like the
coming of stardom turned into a
low-paying desk job? Believe it.
Thirdly, I wanted to explore the isolated
world of an aging model before she
realizes the inevitable. What’s a
interview corner
model’s mindset when she/he knows
their run is coming to an end? What are
the feelings that come out each morning in front of the mirror, behind that
closed door?
Ultimately vanity is the most obvious
theme that transcends the film, but I
believe it’s the different layers of one’s
vanity that are more interesting to
explore.
SFS: Why the title ‘Reflection’?
Kyle: A film that deals with body image,
self-loathing and vanity has a lot to do
with the person who stares back at us in
the mirror. Whenever we stand in front of
our own Reflection we always see past
the physical. Hence too our tagline – The
mirror never lies.
SFS: Would you describe your main characters as archetypes?
Kyle: That’s hard to say, as my experience in the modeling industry is none
existent. The characters I have developed are based off research and represent my own judgments on the people
within that world.
My viewpoint says that Olivia is very
much an archetype. The naïve model
who doesn’t see past today and gets
ahead purely based on her beauty
appears to be very common within the
industry. I’d even go a step further and
say that that archetype isn’t just for
women in modeling…and it’s growing!
As for her partner Mitch (Peter Healy), I
like to think of him as a by-product of the
world we live in today. We’re a society of
consumers and we’re obsessed with
staying up to date with technology.
Mitch, whilst being Olivia’s partner, is also
a symbol of the current world that she’s
struggling to stay in touch with.
SFS: How much did your original idea
change in the process of making the
film?
Kyle: The concept was strong and structured from the start thanks to many
rewrites. We made the odd tweak here
and there, but the foundations of the
story stayed the same.
When we went into production we shot
the film as the script detailed. There
were no last minute changes or audacious gambles on my part. We were
disciplined and stuck to the game plan.
However, that all changed in postproduction when we realized that we
were playing with too many themes for
a nine minute film. What worked and
stayed was the theme of being
replaced, but what most people don’t
know was that the original script also
featured the theme of infidelity. Mitch
was in fact cheating on Olivia, hence
the couple’s non-existent communication.
In the end though it was too much to
stomach for us let alone an audience,
so the choice was made to cut it out.
Ultimately it made the film stronger and
it meant that the story, and most importantly the emotion, always stayed with
our protagonist.
I’d also like to add that the film was
originally screened in a linear format,
but with further post-production we
changed it to non-linear. Without
getting into too many details we felt
that the power of our film was being
wasted at the beginning, so we
changed the structure so our payoff
was at the end. That may have been
the best decision we made!
SFS: How would you describe your film
stylistically? Were you inspired by
something in particular?
Kyle: Absolutely! I’m a very big fan of
keeping the camera moving. Think of
films like Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Traffic’
and Tony Scott’s ‘Man on Fire’. That
constant movement of the camera
always gives me a feeling of being
witness to the drama, like I’m actually
in the room. It’s very ‘documentary’ if
you will, but I think it’s unique and very
effective when utilized properly.
For the editing, when we were stuck as
to how we could best bring out the
films payoff, my DOP (Benjamin Zadig)
suggested Alejandro Gonzalez’s ‘21
Grams’. At first it seemed a little ambitious, but there’s no doubt now that
the splicing up of events within the film
worked for ‘Reflection’. Whilst you’re
never fully confident of where you are
in story time throughout the film, much
like ‘21 Grams’, you still embrace the
story technique and the message
being delivered. Well I hope anyway,
so far no one has said to the contrary.
SFS: Was there a particular ‘feel’ you
were going for?
Kyle: I went for minimal dialogue in an
attempt to make the concepts subtle,
yet the action strong enough that we
could follow the characters and their
journeys.
interview corner
SFS: Throughout the film there are many
sequences where montages of shots
are placed in amongst the live action.
This way we get a deep feel for Olivia’s
mental state. Could you talk a bit more
about this?
Kyle: Because we’re seeing a lot of the
film through Olivia and what she’s
observing, I felt that the additional
shots would add a sense of judgement
and obsessive tendencies. Traits that
the audience could relate back to the
vulnerability and isolation of our
protagonist. ‘Man on Fire’ as I mentioned earlier does this extremely effectively when Denzel Washington’s character (Kresey) is contemplating suicide.
Through a montage of images solely
focused on him, we get a greater
sense of his anguish.
SFS: What would you like the audience
to take / learn from the film?
Kyle: Initially I was told that ‘Reflection’
read like a cautionary tale, which at
first I didn’t like, but I have to admit that
over time the description has grown on
me. Whilst I think there’s far more to the
film then “don’t do this otherwise you’ll
end up like this”, I do think ‘Reflection’
is a universal tale of the pitfalls of vanity
- pitfalls that DON’T just apply to the
outrageously beautiful. I think Olivia’s
story is a reminder to all females that
having it all can be more illusion than
reality and of course the old cliché’
that money doesn’t buy happiness.
SFS: How did you, as a man, feel about
directing what is essentially a female
story? And a characteristic (‘vanity’)
that is predominately a female
attribute?
Kyle: I don’t prescribe to the idea that
vanity is more a female character flaw
than it is a male flaw – it’s just more
obvious. I think in this day and age
where how you look, how you dress
and what you drive are more important than ever – vanity becomes
subconsciously intrinsic. ‘Status’ seems
to be a vital component to both sexes
in the younger generations.
In terms of how I felt about directing a
female’s story? I had no problems on
that front and was more then comfortable with the subject matter. I think I
actually have an advantage, as my
perception isn’t guarded by embarrassment and an unwillingness to
expose all the issues. Some stories are
better told with an outsider’s perspective.
SFS: Sarah Jane Coombe (Underbelly)
gave a great performance playing
Olivia. Which little tricks did you use to
get the performances right?
Kyle: Well unlike Brett Ratner, I do
believe in rehearsals. They give actors
perspective and understanding in the
delivery of their lines. Having been an
actor in my schooling days I understand that how you receive lines (as an
opposing actor) is just as important as
how you deliver your own lines. Don’t
get me wrong, I’m all for a bit of improvisation and in fact I welcome it quite
often, but you need to know the
‘game plan’, so to speak, inside and
out first.
Getting performance is my favorite
part of Directing. Seeing an actor turn
your dialogue and action into reality is
the best part of the job. Seeing a
performance grow from strength to
strength through hard work is so
rewarding.
My actors were fantastic and really
determined to put in the hard yards.
Sarah Jane Coombe who played
Olivia was just a pleasure to work with.
Despite her hectic schedule she still
made the time to come in and
rehearse. Sarah’s dedication is all the
more impressive considering ‘Reflection’ was a student film, but she didn’t
care, she believed in the story.
SFS: What were the main lessons you’ve
learnt while making this film?
Kyle: Don’t produce your own film
when you’re the director. Especially
when it’s an ambitious project as
‘Reflection’ was. In all honesty I’m
insanely competitive and I prescribe to
UFC Champion Georges St. Pierre’s
philosophy that “The danger isn’t to set
your goal too high. It’s to set it too low
and reach it”. But, there are limits, and
the roles of the producer and the director are so different that I will never do
that combo again.
Firstly, worrying about logistics whilst
trying to be artistic and creative just
doesn’t mesh. I found myself stressed
and highly wired, so much so that two
weeks after production I was still
waking up at 2-3am and getting ready
for a shoot that wasn’t on. Seriously, it
messes with your mind.
Secondly, it means you’re not paying
the amount of attention to your actors
that they deserve. Too often I was
disappearing and constantly my 1st AD
(Pete Ireland) would have to send me
back to my waiting actors.
If you’re there to direct, then DIRECT! A
good producer will take care of the
logistics, so take the time to find
him/her.
RTO no: 91074 CRICOS 02631G VET Provider: 7147
interview corner
SFS: What’s your fondest memory of
making ‘Reflection’?
Kyle: I always love the adrenaline when
you first start production and you’re
sh*@ing yourself thinking you’ll never
succeed, but then the team comes
together and ‘bang’ you get that
rhythm back.
Personally I just loved working with
Benjamin Zadig (DOP), Stephanie
Bridger (Production Designer) and
Sarah Jane Coombe (Olivia). They
really worked hard for me and I’m so
grateful they were willing to dedicate
so much time towards ‘Reflection’. I
know they believed in the project, so
I’m just so happy that I’ve been able to
reward them with a few festival selections.
All in all though it’s the collaboration
that’s always the best memory – actors
and crew alike.
Between 6th and 13th December
‘
‘Reflection’ will screen at the Stepping Stone Film Festival in India.
www.wannabestudios.org
Kyle Sellers
MAKE-UP ARTISTS – SILENT
HEROES
Carolina
Ljunggren
&
Emma Karlsson are stylist
students at the Swedish
“Drottning Blanhas Gymnasie” school. In early October they travelled to Sydney
for a make-up internship at
the Sydney Film School.
Carolina and Emma
The internship opportunity came out of
the visit our International Relations
Manager, John Buckmaster, paid to the
Swedish school in May this year.
Drottning Blanhas students were hence
invited to apply and Emma and Carolina were the luckiest two.
Preparations for the internship started
prior to their arrival to Sydney through
Skype conversations with Adam Grubner, a producer on one of the Sydney
Film School Major Drama Productions
(Web of Love). “Adam contacted us
while we were still in Sweden and that’s
when we’ve started planning,” say
Carolina and Emma.
“He sent us a film script, info about the
project and the picture of how they
wanted the make-up to look.”
“We’ve arrived in Sydney 2 weeks
before the commencement of the
shoot and that’s when we were given
more visual references and met with
Manuel (director) and Amelie, the art
director. We sat with them and
planned how they wanted everything.
We drew some designs and they
looked at it. The best part was that
when we were done with the shoot
they told us they were so happy.”
Before coming to Sydney both Emma
and Carolina had some experience
working in a theatre and doing fashion
and private make up but this was the
first time they’ve had a chance to work
on a film production.
“This is our first movie so it was really
great to learn how everything is done
behind the scenes. Otherwise when
you see a movie you don’t think about
that stuff. Now we think about every
different angle. There are so many
things that have to be right for the
movie to be good. It is really interesting!”
“I think your students also learned a lot
about make up. At the beginning they
thought that an actor can be ready in
5 minutes so we had to say ‘No, that’s
not gonna happen, it takes time’. I
think everyone learned that. We’ve
learned from each other and I think
that’s the most important thing.”
Emma applying make-up on one of the actors
interview corner
“We’ve had lots of fun working on this
production and the best part was
being on the set and seeing all we’ve
previously planned and discussed
come to life.”
“At the end it seemed that everyone
was happy with our work which was
the biggest thing for us! Cause we
always say to each other ‘Oh that looks
really good’ but when someone else
who doesn’t really know how make up
should look like says that it looks really
good on the camera it’s so fun to hear
that.”
“When we now compare theatre and
film make-up it is hard to say which one
we prefer. Both is fun! But it seems
though that you get a closer connection with the people on the movie
cause you have to be with them for 5
days and always be where the camera
is and do the hair and make up.”
On the set with Laura Georgey, one of the SFS
Diploma of Screen & Media students
“The great thing is that now we have
something to show to other people
and we are planning to have a presentation of the movie and give our fellow
students some tips about how the
make-up needs to work on film when
we get back.”
“There was a funny incident on the set
one day. One of the main actors was
supposed to look tired and we made
him look tired and two camera girls
were like ‘he has so dark circles around
his eyes, can you fix that because he
looks so tired’. We laughed and said
‘yep, that’s make up! He is supposed to
look like that in this scene.’ It was so
funny!”
“Which tips will we give? Well definitely
this one: ‘Once you finish the make-up
ask the director or his assistant to look
on the screen to make sure it will really
look good on the screen. It might look
good in real life but differently on the
screen. Always check twice. If you
need a touch up jump in after the take
and say ‘You know what! I need to do
a touch up!’. Be a bit pushy. Lots of
people don’t realise how important
make up is for the movie so it is your role
to push this.”
Samples of Carolina’s and Emma’s work on the
‘Web of Love’.
The film will screen at the Chauvel cinema during
the 15th SFS Film Festival. The festival is taking
place on December 14 & 15.
around the world
URACHA, BEN AND LESLIE
VISIT SIAM - THE KINGDOM
OF THAILAND
A team of our staff recently
visited Thailand where
they met with our Thai
graduates. Uracha, our
Diploma of Screen & Media
Course Coordinator, who is
Thai herself writes for us a
memoire of their journey….
By Uracha Thitiluck-Oliver
Despite all flood and flow of water
the sprits of Thai people still up. What I
mean is… water given life… but some
time it overwhelming… flood on
you!!!
When we were in Thailand in September, 30 days before the flood hit
Bangkok we were invited out for
lunch by the Thai Unit to cosy restaurant full of trees near old railway
depot where is now also become
groovy cool antique market.
The atmosphere was nostalgia of old
Siam, combination old meet new.
The food was excellence but the
companions were better than lunch
with PM. We were treat as good old
teachers they respect. Benefit to me
as Thai person; chat like I was on fire.
Thai Unit member build up from combination of generation of SFS from
2006 - 08 and 09 graduated. They use
to work as team at School for many
productions.
Thai Unit poster Sydney Film School 2008 - Since then the Thai Unit has grown
Bundit Theanrat (06), Appichart Thaweeaphiradeevicha (08), Skan Aryuapong
(08), (Jam) Kamowan Silapaporn (08),
Karn Kasamsuk (09), Pavin Kittikovit (09),
Sayumphu Kunrapeegayson (09), Luk
Varasin (09)
This September business trip was the fruit
of their idea - building film school in
Thailand. When met them in January
2011, the idea of film school came from
the Thai Unit wonder mind, I still remember the words said in broken English
“How if we have Sydney Film School in
Thailand? We miss the way we learn
from school so much! The ways of thinking.” (The rest in Thai) Wow! Big statement, I thought, so I did really dig deep
into the meaning of their words hopefully
this is going to be the answer of the
meaning of life?
Well to be fair, they all had some hands
on skills, actively working in the industry
before they came to school but their
answer was “We learn to slow down,
thinking more details before we press
start button or call action, we more
appreciated our culture & background
and see it differently from before we
went to Australia”.
Then we went on talking from political
issues, culture changes, economic,
book, play, dance, and marriage to their
new film topic. Such a big idea conversation over laughter I feel reward to hear
they used and adapt their experience
from living life overseas, gain knowledge
then start to build some thing back
home, I can feel it all work out in their
working world, it was so much joy!
around the world
Chang Mai), “The Rocket”, a
film by SFS teachers, Producer
Sylvia Wilczynski and Director
Kim Mordaunt. Also teaching
Bangkok Uni.
January 2011, Jam’s Restaurant…“How if we have Sydney Film School in Thailand?”
I feel sad for Leslie and Ben that could
not translate as quick as we would
love them to hear. Like secret film
society (a famous SFS graduated
group) the unit are helping each
other make films on their spare time.
But they hardly have spare time now.
They all promise themselves to work
as freelancer, pitch job and generate role to the group. The jobs are
paid and most of them are in the
industry, from advertising productions
shoot with all kind of camera format,
directing job or crew job for drama
series, short film (full funding),
produced TV program and theatre,
graphic work including event organiser. They have got into funded short
film festival cycle and contact of
independent big name filmmaker in
Thailand for future project.
Strong intention to expel old ideas.
In October, back in Thailand during
university holiday last year Pavin, the
yongest member began a short film
project from the book written by
Warin Leopairote, award winning Thai
writer. Karn helped takeing care of DOP
role and manage the rental of camera
equipment from Appichart’s production
company, Jam who was generous with
office space, casting arrangement,
Training actors and being Production
manager on shoot. They also received
assistance from many contract via Thai
Unit conections. Borrow equipments for
free, came to help with prop to set
design and take care of them on location shoot (jungle of north Thailand). In
old Thai proverb we say “meet again
when the nation needed” word of
mounth calling help when ever we had
to face war) Months before this production they got funding to make short flilm
and we had story in the preious news
letter.
Karn Kasamsuk, photographer and
award winning of SFS best DOP, “ Wish“
2009, now working consistently on short
film, TV drama, AD shoot on Film, and
have been working as camera assistant
on international film shoot in Thailand.
Will shoot again in January 2012 (base in
Appichart Thaweeaphiradeevicha, National award winner
director before SFS, set up 5D
equipments hire to big budget
films. Last job, finished night
before our lunch is the Hong
Kong production document
“Life on Cha Paya River”. He
just finished directing TV drama
on air.
We ask him if it is like other
drama we saw on TV, full of
over-acting? He replies faster
than facebook chat…“ No, no
not over-acting like the other Thai TV, I
have learn the craft of Bresson”, we all
laugh with guilt. Oh no what did we do
to him, he doing well. He had point…
and will proof.
Jam’s restaurant family business took off
well. She plans to help them with what
she good at, Production Manager
Production design, casting catering.
Skan’s production company, freelancer
for any job come in his way, teaching
film course at Bangkok University and
being more active in short film world. He
is about to work on project of 700 years
history of Chiang Rai by making “The
Portrait of People”. Skan big dream is
Sydney Film School in his hometown of
Chiang Rai.
Latest news on the face book, as big
flood seperate them to leave Bangkok.
Once the river subside the words “meet
again when the nation needed” will
spread again.
Uracha Thitiluck-Oliver
we invite you to...
SYNCaNIMATION
On Friday November 18 at
6pm we invite you to SyncAnimation, a presentation of
the final work by this
semester’s animation elective students. Join us for
viewing, plus some little
snacks and drinks!
What: SyncAnimation
Where: Sydney Film School
When: Friday Nov 18th,
6pm start
Diploma of Screen & Media
INFORMATION NIGHT
Wednesday November 30
6:00pm
82 Cope St, Waterloo
Visit our school on Wednesday 30th of
November at 6pm to meet some of our
teachers, see our premises and find out
a bit more about the course,
timetables, the school's philosophy and
daily life.
Woven into the discussion of the
hands-on course structure we will be
showing samples of our students’ film
projects and answer your questions
about the details of the course.
You will also have a chance to meet
our current students and see them
editing their films for screening at the
upcoming 15th SFS Film Festival held on
the 14th and 15th December at the
Chauvel Cinema, Paddington.
To RSVP for the Information Night and
find
out
more
please
email
ikeller@sydneyfilmschool.com or call
(02) 9698 2244
we invite you to...
… OUR 15TH SFS FESTIVAL
Taking place over two days at
the Chauvel Cinema in Paddington, each SFS Festival
celebrates the completion of
the semester’s production
period and the graduation of
our Part 2 students.
All the films produced in the current
semester screen at the festival.
Altogether 81 dramas, documentaries
and thesis projects will be presented on
a big screen on December 14th and
15th.
At each session, 11 of them in total, the
audience will be invited to vote for their
favourite film. Audience awards and
other awards judged by the teaching
staff and industry professionals will be
presented on the second night of the
festival with generous prizes provided
by our 15th SFS Festival sponsors.
The keynote speaker for our 15th SFS
Festival Awards Night is the awardwinning Australian film director Paul
Cox. An international film festival favourite whose retrospectives include New
York’s prestigious Lincoln Centre, Cox is
one of the true independent filmmakers
in contemporary cinema.
Paul Cox has made 22 feature films, 11
documentaries and a series of shorts,
including 'Lonely Hearts' and 'Vincent:
A Portrait of Van Gogh'. It's a remarkable output not realised by any of his
peers. His life is celebrated in the new
film by Oscar-nominated director David
Bradbury.
we invite you to...
The first night of the festival, Wednesday
14th, is reserved for the Graduation
Ceremony and screening of the major
projects produced by our graduates in
the last semester of their 1-year studies.
Consistent with the vision to bridge
international film cultures, each Sydney
Film School Festival showcases a short
film produced by an emerging
filmmaker from another country. This
December we are celebrating the
beauty of Korean Cinema.
Written and directed by 2010 graduate
Gary Sofarelli, ‘Lotus Sonny’ is a sexual
awakening drama about the psychological preparation one teenager goes
through in order to be able to take the
sexual plunge with his girlfriend.
Shooting for ‘Lotus Sonny’ took place in
and around Petersham and the inner
city of Sydney over seven days and
nights in early September. The crew
consisted of a dedicated mix of SFS
students and graduates.
Australian Guild of Screen Composers
Australian Institute of Music
American Cinematographer
Artemis Projects
Australian Screen Editors Guild
The Beachamp Hotel
Campus IT
Chauvel Cinema
Cinemarket
CrewWho
Filmink
Gear Head
Jojo's Jetty
Kodak
Korean Cultural Office and Korean Film
Festival in Australia
Popcorn Taxi
Pozible
‘Lotus Sonny’ will screen on Thursday
December 15 at 1:30pm followed by a
Q&A with crew and cast. The session is
supported by Popcorn Taxi and will be
moderated by Popcorn Taxi's creative
director Chris Murray.
All this and more at the upcoming 15th
SFS Festival. We invite you to come and
celebrate with us…
In conjunction with the SFS Industry
Advisory Board (SFS IAB) the 15th SFS
Festival will host the premiere screening
of the short film 'Lotus Sonny', the first
project funded by the SFS IAB Pitch
Competition.
Australian Directors Guild
Chaotic Post
As a special feature of the graduation
night, continuing its collaboration with
international film schools, the SFS
Festival will screen ‘Younggil's Angels’, a
short film produced at the Korean
Academy of Film Arts. This session is
supported by the Korean Cultural
Office and will be introduced by Mr
Kieran Tully, Marketing Manager at the
Korean Cultural Office and Marketing
Director of the Korean Film Festival.
In addition to the regular program, SFS
festivals provide educational opportunities through panel discussions with
graduates and industry professionals.
Our 15th SFS Festival is kindly
supported by our amazing industry
partners.
Thank you:
Production Book
Screen Hub
Sculpting Pictures
Screen Producers Association of Australia
Spirited Films
StarNow
Sydney Underground Film Festival
The Front
Title Space
White Lion Graphics
82 Cope Street
Waterloo 2017
Sydney, NSW, Australia
+61 2 9698 2244
www.sydneyfilmschool.com
ABN 50 106 693 190
82 Cope Street, Waterloo, NSW 2017
RTO no: 91074
CRICOS 02631G
VET Provider: 7147
TEXT: Ira Keller DESIGN: Skan Aryurapong & Ira Keller PHOTOS: Loic Vinet, Christopher Nystrom, Amelie Raoul, Justin Woo, Justin Gong, Isaac Conyers, Filippo Grando
SYDNEY FILM SCHOOL