Alumni and faculty from Griffith Film School have received funding to pursue their dream projects as part of a Screen Queensland short film competition.

Screen Queensland’s SQ Shorts Program has funded the production of 12 short films to allow emerging filmmakers to develop standout stories for the screen.

SQ Shorts is supporting a range of films that includethree ‘edgy’ genre shorts; three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander films; three short horror films and three comedy pilots.

Nine GFS graduates have had their work selected — beating out hundreds of entries from around the state.

As part of the Screen Queensland program, the filmmakers will develop and produce 8-10 minute genre films, each with a budget of up to $40,000.

The completed films will premiere at anumber of popular international film festivals and events around the world, including Screamfest, the largest and longest running horror film festival in the United States.

Griffith grads sweep competition

Head of Griffith Film School Professor Herman Van Eyken said it was gratifying to see GFS graduates sweep the pool of entries.

“It is a huge honour for our graduates to win entry into this program,” he said.

“This initiative will give emerging filmmakers the money to develop their dream projects, and the opportunity to present their work to an influential audience overseas.

“The fact that many of the winning teams featured GFS graduates and faculty speaks volumes about the calibre of our programs.

“It is also evidence of the strong connections between Griffith Film School, organisations like Screen Queensland and the international film industry.”

A life changing opportunity

Griffith Film School graduate Josh Long was selected for last year’s program, and had his short horror film, Post Mortem Mary, screened at Screamfest in LA. He will mentor this year’s SQ Shorts winners.

“Being part of this competition has changed my life andhelped open doors in the industry for me,” he said.

“Through the support of Screen Queensland I was able to make a great Australian gothic horror film andwork with filmmakers far more talented then myself, including many Griffith Film School alumni.

“I’ve been accepted to the Asia Pacific Screen Lab. I’ve recently been a director attachment on the feature film Escape and Evasion, and I’m currently mentoring one of the next wave of SQ Shorts winners.

“The next step is a feature film!”

Supporting young filmmakers

Griffith Film School graduate Henry Boffin will write and direct a short sci-fi film called Lavender, with a host of fellow GFS crew including Robert Bakken (Director of Photography), Shannon Male (Production Design) and Ahmad Halimi (Editor).

Henry graduated with a Bachelor of Film and Screen Media Production (Honours) in 2013. He said winning a spot on the SQ Shorts program would enable him to pursue his passion for filmmaking.

“As a filmmaker, you have to have to have a burning passion, great ideas and a knack for telling stories,” he said.

“But making films is very expensive and time consuming, so in the past, I’ve had to crowdfund projects or ask the cast and crew to volunteer.

“Having the funding to go ahead and make this film is fantastic – it’s very validating.”

Other Griffith Film School alumni selected for the 2018 SQ Shorts program include:

Mary Duong (Producer) – For A Good Cause
Danielle Redford (Producer) – And The Winner Is
Cameron March (Director) – And The Winner Is
Jordan Lynagh (Writer) – And The Winner Is
Brenton Pinsent (Producer) – Stray
Katherine Chediak Putnam (Writer) – Stray
Dean Law (Director/Writer) – Stray
Helen Morrison (Producer) – My Name is Mudju