Press release from WA Screen Academy
Four films produced by the WA Screen Academy have been selected to screen at two of Australia’s most prestigious film festivals.
The People’s Plot is a gentle documentary about a community garden in West Leederville, written by Tina McKimmie and Nadia Meneghello, directed by Mikael bones Olsen and produced by Bec Darling. The Film has been chosen as one of Australia’s Top 100 short films at the St Kilda Film Festival, May 26 – 29. It is also a finalist in the Images of Age category of the competition.
The People’s Plot will also be featured at the Dungog Film Festival, May 28 -31, along with three short dramas produced by the Screen Academy. Project Petey DNA is a hilarious mockumentary about an aspiring indigenous filmmaker that features kidnappings, terrorist gnomes and a toilet for a production office.
This innovative collaboration between the Aboriginal Theatre Program at ECU and the WA Screen Academy was written and directed by acclaimed indigenous playwright and director David Milroy and produced by Jules Fortune.
Background Noise is a black comedy about Paul, whose monotonous days are filled with frustration, humiliation and emasculation until a diagnosis of terminal cancer galvanizes him into changing everything. Written by Gary Sewell, directed by Meredith Gibbs and produced by Gail Marinelli the film features WAAPA actors Brent Hill and Fiona Pepper.
Commodity Fetish, written by Amy Costello, directed by Rob Viney and produced by Bec Darling is a satire about the advertising notion that ‘sex sells’ in which the creatives become addicted to their own campaigns. Travis Nippard, James McKay and T’Neal Maher of WAAPA feature in the lead roles.
With the catchphrase, “Done Sundance, done Cannes, Dungog,” the small town 230 kilometres north of Sydney triples in size for the Dungog Film Festival for four days at the end of May.
It is billed as a celebration of Australian screen culture with 20 independent features, classics introduced by their creators, 101 short films, forums, readings of new scripts…and parties. It is widely regarded as Australia’s answer to the Sundance Festival, the place to be discovered and make those essential contacts.
Director of the WA Screen Academy, John Rapsey, is thrilled to have four films selected. “St Kilda and Dungog are highly-regarded festivals so it an honour to have our films shown alongside the nation’s best. Even better, some of the filmmakers will be able to attend and experience the buzz firsthand.”