AFTRS

+ November 27 The Big Picture - Michael Petroni, See Pictures

 

A graduate of the American Film Institute in Los Angeles (AFI) and winner of both its Screenplay of the Year and the WGA/Scenario award for Best New Screenplay of 1996, Australian born writer/director Michael Petroni Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader talks about his work in Hollywood amongst the likes of 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Spyglass Entertainment and Revolution Studios writing commercially rewarding films for an international audience. With an aim to enhance the level of storytelling in Australia through his Australian production company See Pictures (with producer Jamie Hilton), Petroni discusses his work with local writers here to develop bigger stories and his own plans to write and direct projects in Australia in 2010/11.

 

Special guest: Michael Petroni - screenwriter Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Book Thief, Possession, Afterlife

 

 

 

+ November 20 Warped Mentality - Anna McLeish

 

Following a Screen Australia grant of $400K, Anna McLeish spills the beans on what Warp Films Australia shares with Warp UK, the specific opportunity they see in Australian talent and how the local industry can best engage with their slate encompassing low-budget genre pics, mid-range features and Australia/UK co-productions.

 

Special guest: Anna McLeish - MD, Warp Films Australia

 

 

 

+ November 13 Prime Viewers - Vincent Sheehan & David Caesar

 

With its unique distribution strategy of advance screenings in regional NSW, Prime Mover is going to the heart of its audience. We talk to its director David Caesar Mullet, Dirty Deeds and producer Vincent Sheehan Little Fish about making and maximising films for an untapped regional market.

 

Special guests: Vincent Sheehan - Producer Mullet, Little Fish and David Caesar - Director Idiot Box, Mullet, Dirty Deeds

 

 

 

+ November 6 Short Cuts - A filmmakers guide to festival strategy

 

How big is the short film festival audience? How can they best serve a filmmaker's career? Which ones should you enter and in what order? With over 400 short film festivals in Australia, our panel of industry experts will help navigate the most effective route for your film and career.

 

Special guests: Bronwyn Kidd - Festival Director, Flickerfest, Ian Gardiner - CEO of Viocorp, creator of Australia's first dedicated online short film website Nice Shorts

Craig Boreham - award winning writer/director Transient, Love Bite, Stray and
Angie Fielder - award winning producer Netherland Dwarf, I Love Sarah Jane, Crossbow.

 

 

 

+ October 30 Samantha Lang - Her Place

 

Having recently completed a stint on Penny Chapman's innovative children's series My Place, director Samantha Lang The Well, Monkey's Mask, L'Idole talks about carving a niche for one's self and the evolution of a personal visual style.

 

Special guest: Samantha Lang - director My Place, The Well, Monkey's Mask, L'Idole

 

 

 

+ October 23 Hop, Skip and Jump - Springboard to International Success

 

Armed with $1m in new Enterprise funding and business developments from Hopscotch DVD to Hopscotch Features and joint venture with Three Drunk Monkeys, we talk to Hopscotch MD Troy Lum about how his company is maximising the current local playing field.

 

Special guest: Troy Lum - Managing Director, Hopscotch Entertainment

 

 

 

+ October 16 Shooting Micro-budget - The Curious Case of Shifty

 

* Includes special screening of Shifty

 

In the tradition of Dogme, Warp, Advance Party and our own former IndiVision, we look at the 'just do it' culture of micro-budget filmmaking and Curious Film's boutique distribution arm. In particular, we discuss their distribution strategy for five times BIFA nominated Shifty, the first film to be made by Film London Microwave, a unique scheme set up with BBC Films to make features for under £100,000.

 

Special guest: Michael Wrenn - Curious Film

 

 

 

+ October 9 Dare to Shine - Jan Sardi, Mao's Last Dancer

 

From the Academy award nominated Shine to The Notebook, Love's Brother and Mao's Last Dancer, Jan Sardi talks about finding the emotional core of a story and making it resonate on an international level.

 

Special guest: Jan Sardi - screenwriter Mao's Last Dancer, The Notebook, Shine; writer/director Love's Brother

 

 

 

+ October 2 Mi Culture Su Culture - SBS' Caterina de Nave

 

With hits such as East West 101 and The Circuit in second series and the AWGIE-winning Saved, we talk to SBS's EP of Commissioned Content (Drama & Comedy) Caterina de Nave about how she is navigating the trend towards multicultural content in Australian film and television - and how the production community can best engage with that.

 

Special guest: Caterina de Nave - Executive Producer of Commissioned Content (Drama & Comedy) at SBS

 

 

 

+ September 25 From Film School to Feature Film - networking, collegiate contacts and being tapped by James Cameron

 

This week we will hear from AFTRS alumni director Alister Grierson and DOP Jules O'Loughlin - who have maintained the creative collaboration that they began when they first met at film school and are now in preproduction for James Cameron's upcoming feature Sanctum.

 

Special guests: Alister Grierson and Jules O'Loughlin

 

 

 

+ September 18 Stone Bros - Richard Frankland, ratings and roadtrips

 

* includes special screening

 

Amid the controversy surrounding its MA 15+ rating, award winning writer/director Richard Frankland talks to us about the positives and the negatives of his experience of getting his first feature: Stone Bros to theatrical release.

 

 

 

+ September 11 Van Diemen's Land - From short film to feature

 

* Includes special screening of Van Diemen's Land

 

Writer/Director Jonathan auf der Heide takes us along the creative path from his award winning short film Hell's Gate to its development into the feature film Van Diemen's Land. Joining him will be Oscar Redding, who tackled the role of infamous convict Alexander Pearce in both productions.

 

Special guests: Jonathan auf der Heide and Oscar Redding

 

 

 

+ September 4 Cash and international flow - Emile Sherman

 

Emile Sherman's feature claymation $9.99 is the first Israeli/Australian co-production. In the leadup to its release, and on the back of establishing Aust/NZ cashflow facility Fulcrum Media Finance, Sherman shares his international vision for Australian film.

 

Special guest: Emile Sherman - producer $9.99

 

 

 

+ August 28 Enhancing Dance SDC's Rafael Bonachela

 

With examples from the recent 360 degrees project and We Unfold, we explore the relationship between performance, physicality and the moving image demonstrated between Barcelona born Rafael Bonachela and Australian video artist Daniel Askill.

 

Special guests: Rafael Bonachela - artistic director, Sydney Dance Company

And Daniel Askill

 

 

+ August 21 Fight Club - Ross Grayson-Bell and battling the studios

 

On the 10th anniversary of Fight Club, the film's producer Ross Grayson-Bell talks about the film's development process, how he got the studios to say yes and how he'd do it with or without them next time round.

 

Special guest: Ross Grayson-Bell - producer (Fight Club)

 

 

+ August 14 The Heart of Drama - The Adaptation of Disgrace

 

We look at the key challenges and solutions in adapting J.M. Coetzee's Booker prize-winning novel to the screen in terms of character, dialogue and the story's core emotional scenes.

 

Special guests: Steve Jacobs - director Disgrace and Anna Maria Monticelli - screenwriter Disgrace, La Spagnola

 

 

+ August 7 In the Line of Fire - Robert Connolly's Balibo

 

From The Boys to The Bank to Three Dollars, Robert Connolly's films have always had a political dimension. In Balibo, he turns his eye to the international arena with his depiction of the death of six journalists in events surrounding Indonesia's invasion of East Timor in 1975.

 

Special guest: Robert Connolly' director Balibo, Three Dollars, The Bank

 

 

+ July 31 Liz Ann Macgregor - Art and social space

 

The director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Liz Ann Macgregor talks to us about the state of contemporary art and installation and the ways in which art can be integrated into the urban experience.

 

Special guest: Liz Ann Macgregor - director of the MCA

 

 

+ July 24 Free Spirit - Jessica Hobbs

 

With her new series Spirited in production, Jessica Hobbs tracks her successful directing career via the non film school route, from First AD to Director, from Heartbreak High, Love My Way and Answered By Fire to Tangle and beyond.

 

Special guest: Jessica Hobbs - Director

 

 

+ July 17 Novel Ideas - Chip Rolley

 

With the Twilight trilogy almost single-handedly raising book sales in Australia by 6% last quarter and the Booker prize-winning Disgrace looking set to hit the $1m mark at cinemas, incoming Artistic Director of the Sydney Writers' Festival, Chip Rolley talks about the evolving relationship between novels and films.

 

Special guest: Chip Rolley

 

 

+ July 10 Kriv Stenders - Australian Western

 

* Includes special screening of Lucky Country

 

Ahead of the July 16 release of his new feature film, we delve into the heart of Kriv country' from the brutally honest low-budget drama of Blacktown and Boxing Day to Australia's take on the Western genre, Lucky Country.

 

Special guest: Kriv Stenders' director Lucky Country, Boxing Day, Blacktown

 

 

+ July 3: Rowan Woods - Winged Creatures

 

From The Boys to Farscape to Little Fish, we look at the essence of Rowan Woods' dramatic style and take a sneak peek at clips from his upcoming Hollywood feature, Winged Creatures.

 

Special guest: Rowan Woods, director Winged Creatures, 3 Acts of Murder

 

 

+ June 26: Glendyn Ivin - Last Ride

 

In the leadup to release of Last Ride, starring Hugo Weaving, we trace the journey of this filmmaker from his Cannes winning short Crackerbag to his collaborations with Magic Dirt to this, his first feature film.

 

Special guest: Glendyn Ivin - writer/director Last Ride

 

 

June 19: Andrew Lancaster - Accidents Happen

 

As his debut feature Accidents Happen winds up its screening at the Sydney International Film Festival, writer/director Andrew Lancaster talks about working with Geena Davis, his experience at Tribeca, and the ten years hard work it takes to be an "overnight success".

 

Special guest:  Andrew Lancaster - writer, director Accidents Happen

 

 

+ June 12: Andrew Bovell - Authorial Hand

 

In the context of two current productions of When the Rain Stops Falling and a US option on the cards, acclaimed writer Andrew Bovell talks about the differing degrees of creative control between stage and screen, between local projects and international, and the power and the passion of writing itself.

 

Special guest: Andrew Bovell - playwright, screenwriter Lantana, Book of Revelation, Blessed and the upcoming Edge of Darkness

 

 

+ June 5: The Philanthropic Doco - Ian Darling

 

A year on from the launch of the Documentary Australia Foundation, and with funds for the low-budget sector increasingly scarce, we look at the place of philanthropy in documentary production, its role as a branding tool and the potential for crossover into drama.

 

Special guest: Ian Darling - producer and co-director (The Oasis), Chair of Documentary Australia

 

 

+ May 29: New Life for TV Drama - John Edwards

 

With the healthy state of Pay TV and increased drama funding for the ABC, we talk to award-winning producer John Edwards (Love My Way, The Secret Life of Us) about his two new series Spirited (with Claudia Karvan and Jacquelin Perske) and Tangle, and the new opportunities for Australian television

 

Special guest: John Edwards

 

 

+ May 22: Developmentally Speaking Bridget Ikin & Barbara Masel

 

On the release of their next film My Year Without Sex, we talk to Bridget Ikin and Barbara Masel Look Both Ways about their development process. What are the fundamental aspects of development? How does their relationship work on a functional basis as well as a creative one? Given that Hibiscus Films only works on one film at a time, how do they find "the one"?

 

Special guests: Bridget Ikin (producer) Barbara Masel (producer)

 

 

+ May 15 - Murderous Intent - Ian David

 

From Blue Murder to Rowan Woods' 3 Acts of Murder, we talk about Ian David's career, his commitment to the craft and how he's been spending his Kit Denton Fellowship.

 

Special guest: Ian David (writer)

 

 

+ May 8: Me, Myself, I - Narcissism and the Documentary Form

 

On the completion of the soon to be released documentary I, Psychopath, director Ian Walker, Anna Broinowski Forbidden Lie$' and producer Sally Regan will provide insight into the unexpected scenario of filmmaker becoming 'subject 'when the original subject turns the tables and takes control from the other side of the camera.

 

Special guests: Ian Walker - writer/director I, Psychopath Anna Broinowski - writer/director Forbidden Lie$ and Sally Regan - producer I, Psychopath and Forbidden Lie$

 

 

+ May 1: Adapting Current Affairs - Balibo

 

In their innate drama, current affairs can make great film material. But not without struggles of their own. In the context of films like The Year of Living Dangerously and The Killing Fields, Journalist Tony Maniaty, who covered the 1975 war in East Timor for ABC TV and experienced the shelling at Balibo, talks about his consulting role in adapting news stories to the screen for Robert Connolly's new film Balibo, and the changing role of the journalist.

 

Special guest: Tony Maniaty - journalist, consultant to Balibo

 

 

+ April 24: Samson & Delilah - Warwick Thornton and Kath Shelper

 

* includes special screening

 

Warwick Thornton and Kath Shelper talk about the importance of 'voice' and what makes their collaboration an internationally successful one, from Berlin acclaimed shorts Green Bush, Nana to the 'Audience Favourite' feature film at this year's Adelaide Film Festival, Samson & Delilah.

 

Special guests: Warwick Thornton - director and Kath Shelper - producer

 

 

 

+ April 17: Being Frank Miller - Spirit and 300

 

Examining various local approaches to visually interpreting Frank Miller, creatives from Fuel talk about interpreting the graphic book novelist for is 310 shots on Spirit, while Grant Freckelton from Animal Logic compares notes from Zac Snyder's interpretation of 300.

 

Special guests: Dave Morely - VFX Supervisor, Fuel, Kurtis Richmond - Art Director, Fuel  and Grant Freckelton - concept art, Animal Logic

 

 

+ April 3: Jan Chapman - Creative Producing

 

One of Australia's most endearing and enduring producers, Jan Chapman talks about her personal style and the importance of a producer's authorial hand, even when working with auteurs such as Jane Campion, from The Piano to the upcoming Bright Star.

 

Special guest: Jan Chapman

 

 

+ March 27 In the Ring - The boxing film revival

 

As Australian film Two Fists One Heart releases on our screens, we look at the boxing film genre, from Raging Bull and Rocky to The Wrestler, and how this new father/son story is being marketed internationally in light of them.

 

Special guest: David Elfick - producer Newsfront, Blackrock, Rabbit-Proof Fence

 

 

+ March 20: Mary & Max Melanie Coombs & Adam Elliot

* includes special screening

 

Releasing on April 9 and five years in the making, Mary & Max is the tale of the international friendship between two unlikely pen pals. It also signals the culmination of many years collaboration between producer Melanie Coombs (AFTRS grad) and director Adam Elliot, from the Academy Award winning Harvie Krumpet to this long awaited feature claymation that opened the Sundance Film Festival.

 

 

+ March 13: Cross-platform Trailblazers Scorched

 

As online viewing habits overtake that of broadcast TV, Firelight's EMMY nominated Marcus Gillezeau and Ellenor Cox Scorched talk about their award-winning, all-platform series and the way it signals a shift towards generating original content in each of the channels.

 

Convergent media expert Jennifer Wilson expands upon the big picture opportunities for filmmakers in the digital space.

 

Special guests: Marcus Gillezeau - interactive director/producer Scorched, Ellenor Cox - producer Scorched, Jennifer Wilson - Lean Forward Media, co-chair Australia's Mobile Industry Group.

 

 

+ March 6: Culture Shock and Cinematographer

 

Back from shooting her first feature film in Iran, no less Bonnie Elliott talks about filming handheld, in a hijab and in the height of summer. Meanwhile Simon Chapman tells how he survived TVCs in Vietnam/India and overcame language barriers, cultural difference and cold on a 2002 internship in China with Christopher Doyle, and Denson Baker talks about the experience of shooting in India for The Waiting City.

 

Special guests: Bonnie Elliott - My Tehran For Sale, Simon Chapman - Hero

and Denson Baker The Waiting City

 

 

+ February 27: Drama King - The role of the dramaturg

 

With both philosophical discussion and practical demonstration from ill-fated Justice League to The Bourne Ultimatum, Nico Lathouris talks about how dramaturgy works between actor (or non-actor) and director to enhance dramatic truth.

Special guest: Nico Lathouris - writer, actor, dramaturg at Kennedy Miller Mitchell

 

 

+ February 20: Fest for Success - The Short Film Festival as branding tool

 

From BMW to top shelf booze, more and more major brands are starting short film festivals as a marketing tool. On the eve of the 2009 Movie Extra Tropfest, we look at what leverage the short film festival holds for both the profiles of brands and filmmakers alike. What is the difference between these and other short film festivals? What are brands such as Virgin, Orange, iiNet, Motorola and Treo gaining from involvement with online film festivals?

 

Special guests: Tom Hull - project director, Jameson's Short Film Festival and Lizzy Nash - EP, The Feds (Production House working with the Jameson Short Film Comp)

 

 

+ February 13: Thriller Night Horror, genre and the remake: Friday the Thirteenth

 

As Friday the Thirteenth, Long Weekend and other classics go into remake, and the Saw franchise goes from strength to strength, we look at the latest twists and turns in horror/thriller genres and what it takes to get cut-through in the current marketplace.

 

Special guests: Rod Morris Writer, Dying Breed and Michael Favelle  Odin's Eye Entertainment, sales agent for upcoming thriller Crush