By Rachael Turk
Award winning cinematographer and internationally acclaimed short film director Bonnie Elliott has been named director of the 2008 promotional trailer for the Inside Film Awards, the people’s choice awards for Australian film.
Elliott, the winner of the Atlab IF Award for Rising Talent in 2007, has just returned from the Berlin Film Festival where her short film Meditations on a Name screened in competition. She will write and direct the trailer promoting scoring on SBS, Showtime, at film festivals and in cinemas throughout the year.
Her success was acknowledged at a special screening event yesterday at Atlab’s new Efilm facilities.
Atlab communications manager Dominic Case said The Atlab Group has long been a supporter of emerging film talent, in particular through the Atlab Short Film Initiative that was established five years ago to bring Digital Intermediate and other services within the reach of the short film format.
Efilm general manager Anthos Simon says has confirmed that the Atlab initiative will continue under the banner of Efilm Australia, Atlab’s new digital services laboratory. Accordingly, the IF Award will this year be named the Efilm IF Rising Talent Award.
‘Both the Short Film Initiative and the IF Rising Talent Award are a way to give something to new and independent filmmaking talent, as well as introducing them to the likes of senior colourists Trish Cahill and Olivier Fontenay,’ says Simon.
‘The way films are being made is changing. We recognise that change.’
Bonnie Elliot joins an impressive list of recipients of the Atlab IF Award for Rising Talent such as the 2006 winner, Peter Templeman, whose short film The Saviour was nominated for the 2007 Academy Award© for Best Live Action Short; Matthew Saville, who wrote and directed the critically acclaimed Noise; and producer Kath Shelper, who is about to start pre-production in Alice Springs with writer/director Warwick Thornton’s feature film Samson and Delilah.
The Efilm IF Award for Rising Talent is open to nominations from the public and the application form will be on the IF Awards website http://www.ifawards.com.au/ in July.