Young Filmmaker of the Year Award Nominations for AFTRS Student and Alumnus

AFTRS Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production student Orla Doyle and 2018 graduate Jack Clark have been nominated for Byron Bay Film Festival’s Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year Award. Their work will screen among fellow alumni films at the festival’s 2020 hybrid – in-cinema and virtual – edition (23 October – 1 November).

Celebrating Australian and international independent filmmakers, the festival will showcase a collection of feature, documentary and short films, screening in local theatres, as well as a 360º virtual reality screening against the backdrop of Byron Bay’s iconic lighthouse.

Currently in her third year, Orla Doyle is vying for the festival’s annual prize for emerging local talent and her AFTRS student film, Head Spins, will screen as part of the showcase. Doyle wrote and directed the film, teaming up with her BA classmates, producer Amber Liebenow, cinematographer Rachel Gammel, first assistant director Annabel Mills and sound recordist William Hanson, with editing by 2019 Master of Arts Screen graduate Peter Skinner.

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So thrilled to be nominated for the 2020 Young Australian filmmaker of the Year Award at Byron Bay International Film Festival! So proud of this little film and all the beautiful souls who made it a reality. The team at #bbff2020 have put together an incredible program this year to make sure that COVID doesn’t rain on its parade, so you can catch ‘Head Spins’ in a cutting edge VR screening from wherever you are! Woo hoo! #byronbayfilmfestival

A post shared by Orla Doyle (@orla.harper.doyle) on Sep 25, 2020 at 10:19pm PDT

Also competing for the prize is 2018 Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production graduate Jack Clark, whose film Threshold will screen in competition. Clark wrote and directed the short film, working alongside fellow 2018 Bachelor of Arts Screen graduates, producer James Weir, cinematographer Matthew Hill and composer/sound designer Andreas Dominguez.

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Stoked to be nominated for the 2020 Young Australian Filmmmaker of the Year Award at Byron Bay International Film Festival for ‘Threshold’ BBFF has been putting in the hard yards to ensure their program can be seen this year in more ways than one, so keep your eyes peeled for updates on how to catch it (more news @faxmachinefilms) #bbff2020 #byronbayfilmfestival Killer team put this one together; @jamesvalerieweir @jessrealisingstuff @matthewalexanderhill @andreasjdominguez @harleywilson_ @bellabucceri @hello_christine_anderson @willhadinata

A post shared by Jack Clark (@jack.lark) on Sep 25, 2020 at 10:39pm PDT

Screening in the Spotlight on Byron program is AFTRS production Hate Dance, written, directed and edited by Beverley Callow (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017). In addition to having screened in competition at the 2019 Cyprus International Film Festival and 2020 Demakijaż Women’s Film Festival in Poland, the work earned cinematographer Emma Elias (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017) the Gold prize in the Student Film category at the 2018 Australian Cinematographer’s Society’s NSW and ACT Awards.

The Flickerfest-winning festival hit, Chicken, written and directed by 2017/2018 Talent Camp participant Alana Hicks, and produced by alumna Sleena Wilson (Graduate Certificate Screen: Creative Producing, 2018), continues its festival tour. This Byron screening follows its latest inclusion at the 2020 virtual edition of BFI London Film Festival.

After being selected to screen at Brisbane and Adelaide International Film Festivals, feature documentary Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra, written and directed by Wayne Blair (Andrew Myer Fellowship recipient, 200), is Byron Bay’s festival opener, set to appear in an already-sold-out special screening. On Sunday 25 October, Blair will feature in conversation with Australian acting legend Jack Thompson (Breaker Morant, The Sum of Us, High Ground), examining their own history and exploring the evolution of Indigenous culture on Australian screens.

See the full festival lineup here.

AFTRS STUDENT AND ALUMNI WORKS AT BBFF 2020

DOCUMENTARIES

Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra
Director/writer: Wayne Blair (Andrew Myer Fellowship, 2007)

SHORT FILMS

Chicken
Director/writer: Alana Hicks (Talent Camp NSW, 2017; National, 2018)
Producer: Sleena Wilson (Graduate Certificate Screen: Creative Producing, 2018)

YOUNG FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR AWARD

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)

Threshold (World premiere)
Writer/director/editor: Jack Clark (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Producer: James Weir (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Cinematographer: Matthew Hill (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Composer/sound designer: Andreas Dominguez (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)

SPOTLIGHT ON BYRON

Hate Dance
Writer/director/editor: Beverley Callow (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Producer/first assistant director: Eero Heinonen (Master of Arts Screen, 2018; Advanced Diploma in Producing: Story, Audience, Finance, 2016)
Cinematographer: Emma Elias (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Production designer: Hannah Steen (Diploma in Screen Design, 2017; Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Associate editor: Anne Foo
Sound designer: Paul Huntingford
Composer: Julie Pennings (Graduate Certificate Screen: Music, 2017)
‘Hate Tango’ composer: Allister Hare (Master of Arts Screen, 2019)
Second assistant director: Tzi Ying Ma (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Sound recordist: Tahira Donohoe-Bales (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
First assistant camera: Vanja Nedic, Lizzie Dingle (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017), Zac Hardaker (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Second assistant camera: Soumya Lakme Iynegar (Diploma in Camera Fundamentals, 2016), Alyssa Montgomery (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018), Taylor Venter (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Grip: Tamatea Kohu (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Crane operator: Tony Bosch
Stills photographer/production assistant: Tony Ling
Costume designer/set dresser: Mitch Jones (Diploma in Screen Design, 2017)
Makeup artist: Grace Loughland
Standby props assistant: Steph Bosnic (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Art assistant: Benjamin Lannon (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Production supervisor: Mat Harvey (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017; Foundation Diploma, 2011)
Production coordinator: Carla Hedley (Introduction to Film, 2015)
Additional cinematography: Eero Heinonen, Beverley Callow
Colourists: Conlan Mackenzie (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017; Foundation Diploma, 2014), Jarryd Hall (Graduate Diploma in Cinematography, 2013)
Script consultants: Melissa Lee-Speyer (Master of Arts Screen, 2018; Advanced Diploma in Screenwriting: Series Television, 2016), Imogen Sage