Nick and Nathan Lacey’s Die Bully Die and Jones Riley Eli’s DAD have won the fiction and non-fiction prizes at the Sony Catchlight Film Festival awards on Saturday.
The former follows Max, a man whose grudge against his high school bully begins to manifest in horrific ways when the pair reunite in a fancy restaurant 17 years later. In DAD, three children talk about a family tragedy – when their dad was diagnosed with brain cancer.
The short films were among five winners crowned at Sydney’s White Bay Power Station alongside Cameron Zayec’s Queen of Sin (Music Video), Ormsby Taniora’s The Great South (Student Fiction), and Elliott Sauvage’s Japan – Lost (Cinematic Social).
Now in their fourth year, the awards are designed to recognise filmmakers from Australia and New Zealand that have chosen to tell their stories with a Sony camera. Judging the 2024 entries were Mark Wareham (Fiction), Rachel Landers (Non-Fiction), Simeon Bryan (Student Fiction) and Sony Music (Cinematic Social and Music Video).
Sony Digital Imaging ANZ head Jun Yoon said this year’s Catchlight Film Festival had once again uncovered “amazing new talent who are so gifted in telling stories that move people”.
We are very lucky this year to celebrate all our finalists and winners at the the iconic White Bay Power Station in Sydney,” he said.
“Through a takeover of this incredibly unique location, we have also celebrated our 9th annual Alpha Awards, and to top it off, we will also have our inaugural open-to-the-public Tradeshow for our community to enjoy workshops and panel talks from over 30 creators and get hands-on with products at live demonstrations and experiences.”
The 2024 Catchlight Film Festival Award winners are as follows:
Fiction Winner
Die Bully Die by Nick and Nathan Lacey
Shot on: Sony CineAlta VENICE and Sony CineAlta BURANO
Non-Fiction Winner
DAD by Jones Riley Eli
Shot on: Sony Alpha 7S II, Sony Alpha 7S III and Sony Alpha 1
Music Video Winner
Queen of Sin by Cameron Zayec
Shot on: Sony FX6
Student Fiction Winner
The Great South by Ormsby Taniora
Shot on: Sony FS5
Cinematic Social Winner
Japan – Lost by Elliott Sauvage
Shot on: Sony Alpha 7S III
Special Laurels judged by Bonnie Elliott
Best Cinematography in Fiction, supported by Videocraft
For Joan by Micaela Osfield
Best Cinematography in Non-Fiction, supported by VA Hire
Making Revisions by Matt Deavin
Best Cinematography in Music Video, supported by Lemac
Bindi in the Dirt by Nick Sullivan
Best Cinematography in Student Fiction, supported by Atomos
When Dogs Go To Heaven by Riti Ramanujachari
Best Cinematography in Cinematic Social, supported by Southern Cross Cameras
Ground by Maharaj Krish!
Best Sony Lens Work
Sing Sings – Keepers of the culture by Arango Guerrero Mateo!