This weekend’s West End Film Festival (27-28 May) will showcase the considerable talents of a number of QUT Film, Screen and Animation graduates.
Benjamin Gerbanas, Taylor Deen, Sarah Rackemann, Brooke Szakowski, Jennifer Cheng and Will Robson are all in the running in what is becoming an increasingly prestigious competition for grassroots filmmakers and a celebration of the vibrant and eclectic community in which it is held.
Benjamin and Taylor are finalists for their film Grey Space, a documentary about Jack Stone - a local beekeeper on a mission to turn grey spaces into thriving eco-environments that can provide organic food products to urban communities in Australia. The film follows his work tending to his hives and his passionate crusade to educate people about the vital role bees play and how endangered they currently are.
Sarah Rackemann, meanwhile, made the cut for the competition with One Small Step, a whimsical animated take on what has long been considered one of humankind’s greatest achievements - astronaut Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk. The hand drawn-work was created with other QUT animation graduates Brooke Szakowski, Jennifer Cheng, Julia Raymond and Vannah Lenngu.
One Small Step producer Will Robson is himself a finalist for Twin Beaks, described as a fun and playful CG animated short film that tells the story of two lazy seagulls Steve and Bill.
“The film and animation production students work very hard on their final year films, as do the QUT staff who support the projects. The results speak for themselves, and many of our graduates go on to become leaders in the screen industries,” said innovative filmmaker Dr Phoebe Hart, Study Area Coordinator for Film, Screen and Animation in QUT’s Creative Industries Faculty.
“We are really proud of the achievements of Benjamin, Taylor, Sarah and Will. I am sure they all have a great future in the industry ahead of them and wish them best of luck in the West End Film Festival competition. Just to make the cut is an achievement.”
Winners of the short film, documentaries and animation categories of the West End Film Festival will be announced at the Sunday afternoon screenings.
QUT is part of a national collaborative group of five major Australian universities that form the ATN (Australian Technology Network of Universities).
Media contact:
Amanda Weaver, QUT Media, 07 3138 9449, amanda.weaver@qut.edu.au
After hours: Rose Trapnell, 0407 585 901, media@qut.edu.au
