A host of Griffith Film School projects will premiere at the Brisbane International Film Festival (BiFF), which launches tonight.

Dr Peter Hegedus and Adjunct Professor Trish Lake will screen their latest documentaries as part of the festival.

Alumni Harvey Hayes and Angus Kirby will debut their short films, Biggie &Shrimp and Desperate Pleasures.Recent graduates Mieka Thorogood and Matthew Keen will present their short film, Gertrude, which started life as a graduate project at GFS.

A platform for local filmmakers

Professor Herman Van Eyken

Head of Griffith Film School, Professor Herman Van Eyken, said the strong showing at BiFF reflected the calibre of talent nurtured at GFS.

“We are very proud of what our faculty, students and alumni are producing,” he said.

“It is fantastic to see the Brisbane International Film Festival championing the work of local filmmakers.

“Platforms like this allow the next generation of filmmakers to make industry connections and build a wider audience for their work.”

Griffith provides pathways for emerging filmmakers

Griffith Film School will also present the Queensland Emerging Screen Talent (QEST) conference — a free day of industry roundtables, seminars and workshops.

The QEST conference will feature the Australian premiere of On the Move, a world-first collaboration between three international film schools: Griffith Film School (Australia), Beijing Film Academy (China) and Dankook University Film School (South Korea).

Championing homegrown talent

Adjunct Professor Trish Lake

A new feature documentary by Griffith Film School Adjunct Professor Trish Lake will have its world premiere at BiFF before being released nationally next year.

Love Opera tells the story the Lisa Gasteen National Opera School (LGNOS), which runs for several months each year at the Queensland Conservatorium.

Professor Gasteen is an alumnus of the Queensland Conservatorium, where she is now a Practice Professor of Opera.

A scene from Love Opera

Adjunct Professor Lake said the project was championed by Professor Van Eyken and Griffith Film School.

“Herman thought LGNOS would make a wonderful documentary, and he reached out to me as a local producer with strong ties to Griffith,” she said.

“This film has been an amazing collaboration, and we couldn’t have completed it without the support of Griffith University.

“Many of the key crew were GFS alumni, and we also had Masters students on board.”

A creative journey

Dr Peter Hegedus

A powerful new documentary by Griffith film lecturer Dr Peter Hegedus will have its Brisbane premiere as part of BIFF.

Lili follows a young mother who fled Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, leaving behind her first-born child. Decades after she settled in Australia, Lili’s second daughter, Edie, begins the search for her dislocated family, travelling across three continents to confront the past.

The feature documentary was directed and written by senior film lecturer Dr Peter Hegedus, who spent three months in Hungary shooting the film.

“I was granted six months leave to complete this as part of the Academic Study Program, and the support from Griffith has been instrumental in getting this project off the ground,” he said.

Dr Hegedus said making the film had been an enormously rewarding creative journey.

“To have the film premiere in front of local audiences at the Brisbane International Film Festival is particularly special,” he said.

The Brisbane International Film Festival runs until 13 October. For details and tickets go to biff.com.au.