Griffith Film School has hosted the prestigious CILECT Congress which brings together film and TV educators from around the world — the first time the event has been held in Australia.

The conference attracted an all-star panel of keynote speakers, including renowned Australian directors Gillian Armstrong (My Brilliant Career), Rolf de Heer (Bad Boy Bubby) and Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy).

Oscar-winning documentary director Joshua Oppenheimer (The Act of Killing) and producer Lord David Puttnam (Chariots of Fire) also presented at the conference.

Head of Griffith Film School Professor Herman van Eyken said the opportunity to host the biannual event confirmed Griffith’s standing as a leader in film education.

“We are now Australia’s largest film school and we occupy a prominent position at the centre of film, games and animation education,” he said.

“The Congress was a great opportunity to host leading film educators from around the world and build industry connections.”

Professor van Eyken is Chair of the CILECT Asia Pacific Association (CAPA), which held its annual conference ahead of the global congress.

The two-day conference attracted delegates from 25 leading film schools from across the region to discuss the best practice for long form production at film schools.

Professor van Eyken said Griffith Film School was spearheading feature film production as part of the new Master of Screen Production.

“We want to give our students the opportunity to work on long-form films and open up opportunities for industry collaboration,” he said.

Griffith Film School’s LiveLab recently finished a feature film co-production with local film studio Visionquest, Bullets for the Dead.

Professor van Eyken said industry collaboration ensured that film schools remained relevant in today’s rapidly changing landscape.

“The challenge is responding to diverse media and communication platforms — every week a new job is invented and new corners of the industry emerge.

“Film schools have a vital role to play in preparing students to take on these roles.”

Griffith Film School has doubled its enrolments in the past five years and is now the largest film school in Australia.