A short drama about two first-generation Australians who are rivals in a badminton tournament has won Byron Bay Film Festival’s Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year Award competition.
Alisha Mehra’s Match Point was selected from 10 finalists for the prize, which was judged by screen legend Jack Thompson.
Each project came from a filmmaker under 25, with their shorts playing in-person at the festival for the first time since 2019.
The 22-year-old Victorian winner said she was inspired to tell the story of two young sporting rivals from different Asian backgrounds who come to appreciate each other’s respective struggles as a way of “providing a contemporary snapshot of our blended society”.
Mehra added the project aligned with her goals as a filmmaker to “empower others through storytelling, shed light on confronting topics, and create content whose purpose is to build a more accepting society”.
“As an Indian-Australian, I recognised that there wasn’t enough representation of an authentic Australia on our screens.”
In announcing the winners, Thompson said he had watched all 10 films three times each before making a short list of three.
“People ask me about the future of Australian filmmaking,” he told the directors and audience at the award ceremony.
“Well, here it is, standing before me.
“Work such as these young filmmakers’ films have become a part of our culture, how we express who we are and what we want to say. It’s really wonderful.”
As part of the festival, Thompson also appeared in conversation with Madman Entertainment CEO Paul Wiegard over lunch at Byron Bay restaurant Ember.
The Byron Bay Film Festival runs until October 30.