AACTA has announced the recipient of AACTA Pitch: Mother, with Rhona Rees receiving $10,000 in development funds and an exclusive distribution deal with Monster Pictures for her concept 'Freya'.
In partnership with Sony, AACTA has announced the five finalists for its Pitch: Focus initiative, which aims to give student filmmakers the opportunity to create an original production with industry mentorship and funding support.
First-time feature directors Thomas Wright ('Acute Misfortune'), John Sheedy ('H is for Happiness'), Ben Lawrence ('Hearts and Bones') and Natalie Erika James ('Relic') will vie for the Australian Directors' Guild Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film ($1 million or over) against Sophie Hyde ('Animals') and Wayne Blair ('Top End Wedding').
Writer-director Imogen Thomas’ debut feature Emu Runner and Benjamin Gilmour’s Afghanistan-shot drama Jirga will have their world and international premieres respectively at the Toronto International Film Festival.