Forums

Forums are held in The Hall and are free.

These forums will focus on the film industry from both an International and an Australian perspective with a particular emphasis on short film. They will take the form of a panel presentation and discussion, moderated by Heart of Gold’s Artistic Director Malcolm Blaylock, and followed by Q&A.

9.30am, Saturday 13th March: Film Industry – International Perspective

Richard Sowada (Australia)
Currently the head of Film Programs at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image at Federation Square in Melbourne and was also a film Director and the founding director of Revelation, the Perth International Film Festival.

Sherriff Osikemhekhai Musa  (Russia)
Director of Moscow My Love

Dillon Oloyede  (Russia)
Actor in Moscow My Love

Loic Valmy (France/Australia)
Loic is a French Screen composer and now Australian Resident. Loic has brought his European Influence to the Australian Cinema Industry and whilst he has composed mostly for French and European feature films, TV series and documentaries, he has also just finished the score for an Australian Feature Comedy Girl Clock.

Michelle Ortega (USA)
Michelle has received numerous awards for excellence in video production while Senior Producer at Macy’s Satellite Network.  She is Past President of the San Francisco chapter of American Women in Radio and Television and is currently a member of the San Francisco Film Society and Bay Area Women in Film and Media (BAWIFM).  BAWIFM selected Adult Beginner Ballet as one of six films to show at their Annual Shorts Screening series in May of 2009 to a sold out audience.  She has also produced award-winning narrative shorts, Just Friends and Justin’s Lot, which screened at Tiburon International Film Festival, Oakland International Film Festival and the Rogue Film Festival.

9.30am, Sunday 14th March: Film Industry – Australian Perspective

Bec Dakin (Brisbane)
Bec has worked extensively as a production manager and Producer which has included significant television commercial work. She has also been involved on numerous musical video clips. Bec’s film work includes production roles on both feature and short films such as Tubes, Ascension, Seize the Day and The Team, as well as Art Department on Fools Gold. She also produced her own feature film in 2006 entitled The Horseman. Her TV experience includes the first six episodes of Frocks Off for SBS and the MTV Australian Music Awards. She currently heads up, with Claire Davidson the crew booking agency, Crew Tube and is business Development Manager with The Post Lounge. She is the Producer of the award winning Glenn Owen Dodds.

Sebastian Danta (Sydney)
Sebastian Danta’s two films from RMIT University in Melbourne, Losing Face and Flat, screened at over 30 festivals worldwide, including Telluride, Anima Mundi, Melbourne International Film Festival, Pusan, LA Short Film Fest, Palm Springs, Stuttgart, Interfilm Berlin and the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. His third animation, Father, was financed by the Australian Film Commission. It has screened at over 20 high-profile international film festivals, including the Telluride Film Festival (USA), Animafest Zagreb (Croatia), LA Short Film Fest (USA), Anima Mundi (Brazil), the Melbourne International Film Festival (Australia), Dok Leipzig (Germany) and Montreal (Canada).

Genevieve Clay (Sydney)
Genevieve Clay is a writer/director who has made over 20 short films including a feature documentary for Down syndrome NSW.  In February this year Genevieve took out first prize at Movie Extra’s Tropfest for Be My Brother, earning her the accolade of youngest director ever to do so. Genevieve is currently working as a freelance director and her latest short Frances and Annie, shot by acclaimed cinematographer Jules O’Loughlin, has recently won best script at the Bondi Short Film Festival. She is currently in pre-production for a series of claymation interstitials titled Two Old Men.

Rob George (Melbourne)
Rob has worked in film, TV and theatre. He wrote Captain Johnno a children’s telemovie that won an International Emmy Award.  He wrote the feature “Fair Game” and wrote and produced the mini-series The River King which was a finalist at Banff. Rob was story editor on Something In The Air and later MDA as well as script editor on Blue Heelers.  Most recently Rob was story editor on the French animated series The Odd Family and co wrote Wire Through The Heart for the ABC.

Stephen Kanaris (Brisbane)
Stephen completed a BA in Film and Television at QUT where he directed a number of short films and documentaries. He has gone on to write, direct and edit TV commercials and segments as a freelancer and also with Channel 10. Currently he works as an in-house writer/director at Brisbane Marketing and also lectures film and television part time at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art. His film Boundless won BEST FILM and BEST DIRECTOR at Australia’s most prestigious short film festival, St. Kilda. The film has since gone on to play at the Brisbane International Film Festival, New Orleans International Film Festival and was selected as a finalist in this year’s ATOM Awards.

Damon Gameau (Sydney)
Since graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1999, Damon Gameau has starred in several critically acclaimed Australian feature films: The Tracker, Thunderstruck and Razzle Dazzle, and most recently, Balibo for which he received an AFI nomination for Best Supporting Male Actor in a Feature Film. His TV credits include Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities and Love My Way.