YOUNG AUSTRALIAN FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR
SATURDAY 22nd OCTOBER
BYRON THEATRE
4.45PM
Each year a multitude of emerging Australian talent enter BBFF’s coveted Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year Competition. This session features the top 10 Nominees for 2022.
ALISHA MEHRA
MATCHPOINT
Raj Sharma and Thao Luong are two first-generation Australians who cross paths at the annual badminton competition. As they play out an intense battle, their hardship and journey to this path are revealed, asking the question, what will win: passion or desperation?
Alisha (22) believes in empowering others through storytelling; shedding light on confronting topics and creating content that hopes to build a more accepting society. Taking inspiration from her own experiences, she strives to create stories that will ignite positive discourse, leaving a strong impression on viewers.
ERIKA FELTON
CUSP
As the dust settles on her goodbye party, Nora must face her best friend Maude and come to terms with what it means to leave her other half behind.
Erika (24) is a queer director / producer who treasures stories that see the beauty in the benign, and that celebrate what it means to be alive.
Born in Melbourne, raised in China, did a brief stint in London until she finally settled in Sydney where she completed her BA in Screen Production at the Australian Film, Television, and Radio School.
HARRY SABULIS
LUMBER
A lonely lumberjack in rural Queensland goes to a gay bar for the first time to find love.
Harry (23) is a Meanjin/Brisbane based writer, producer and director, with a passion for telling queer stories. An openly gay man and a second-generation Australian with Lithuanian and Belarusian heritage, Harry is dedicated to telling emotional and inspiring stories from underrepresented communities; to shine a light on difficult and challenging topics that are often left untold on our screens.
HOLLY TRENAMAN
DATING VIOLET
In a small-coastal town, where everyone knows everyone, Violet’s life crashes down when she is dumped by her boyfriend and her parents contemplate divorce.
Holly (24) has recently graduated from a Bachelor of Art: Screen Production at The Australian, Film, Television and Radio School and is currently completing her Master of Arts in Creative Writing at The University of Technology, Sydney. Her goal is to showcase imperfect female characters to alleviate standards of perfection on women.
JIM WEIR
JULIA
A family arm-wrestling battle and a strange radio program lead a father and son to profound realisations about their place in the world.
Jim (25) is a writer, director, producer and editor, after graduating from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in 2019, he screened his final project 'Thirty Pieces' around Europe where it won Best Film and Audience Favourite at the experimental Hell Chest Festival in Gibraltar, Spain.
LACHLAN
ANDERSON-SCHMIDT
XERO SUGAR
A man known as The Keeper, journeys through his subconscious chasing a mysterious woman, The Bird, reflecting upon love, power, desire, nostalgia, and perfection as he believes she is "the one".
Lachlan (20) is a director, writer and cinematographer. He was born in 2002 in Tamworth, New South Wales, and was raised on the Gold Coast, Queensland. He started studying a film degree at QUT in 2021.
MADELEINE NEATE
THALLIUM ENTHUSUASTS
In a post-World War II rat infested Sydney – disharmony thrives behind the doors of domestic bliss.
Madeleine (24) is a Writer-Director currently based in Melbourne. In 2020, she graduated from The Australian Film, Television and Radio School with a BA: Screen Production. During her time at AFTRS, she wrote and directed Thallium Enthusiasts as a Proof of concept short film that is the precursor to a larger idea.
With an interest in the weird and zany, Madeleine loves to develop distinct worlds in which we can learn from our own.
MARIELLA S. SOLANO
ALBA
An aspiring Peruvian performer must decide whether she’s dancing for others or for herself.
Mariella (25) is a Peruvian-Australian, Director, Writer and Producer who has graduated from the Australian Film Television and Radio School.
Mariella is drawn to stories that showcase the intrinsic details of intimacy, sensual connection and relationship dynamics.
Mariella produced short films,. Alba is Mariella’s directorial debut.
NATALIA STAWYSKYJ
ALL SILENT DOGS
A teenager is faced with a choice: give up her ability to transform into a dog or face the familial and societal consequences of keeping it.
Natalia (24) has lived a dissonant life. Growing up in Sydney, her youth was idyllic. So wonderful that when she speaks of it truthfully, it sounds like she’s lying. Thus, the fates felt like flipping the table and she developed a debilitating chronic illness.
Despite all the hardships, her passion for filmmaking was never snuffed out and she has worked her way into the industry she holds dear.
RILEY SUGARS
HATCHBACK
Vince attempts to dispose of a dead body for the mob, but when he reluctantly enlists the help of his dim-witted brother-in-law Ted, things don’t go to plan.
Riley (25) is a Melbourne-based filmmaker. Hatchback (2022) has marked his first film in the comedy genre, taking out Best Director at CineFest OZ, having the film play opening night of St Kilda Film Festival and Perth Revelations International Film Festival, and just being nominated for AACTA Award for Best Short Film.