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AFTRS Opens its Doors on Open Day
Australia’s premier film, television and radio school is set to hold its opening days in Sydney and Melbourne over the coming days...
Established in 1973, The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) is recognised as one of the country's leading film schools, helping launch the careers of a number of our most notable filmmakers including Warwick Thornton (Samson and Delilah), Gillian Armstrong (Little Women; Love, Lust & Lies), Cate Shortland (Somersault), Alex Proyas (Dark City, I Robot) and Phillip Noyce (Rabbit-Proof Fence, Salt).
For those with an interest in pursuing a career within the industry, the school is holding their annual open days and information sessions on the 4th and 5th of September in Sydney and the 12th of September in Melbourne.
Aragorn Fenton, who already holds a media studies degree, is currently completing a Foundation Diploma at AFTRS, a one year course aimed at educating those just starting out in the industry. Initially Fenton was overawed by the stature and quality of the teachers at the school.
"My first teacher was Rachel Landers [who wrote and directed 2010's The Inquisition and produced The Snowman which won the FOXTEL Australian Documentary Prize at this year's Sydney Film Festival]. I'd studied her work previously and she's one of Australia's foremost documentary makers so walking into my first class and having her as my teacher was a bit of an eye opener," Fenton says. "We have industry leaders teaching us and extraordinary facilities, so it's a real privilege to be here."
According to Fenton, AFTRS is a school for people who love film and want to make films, regardless of the road they've taken to get there. "There are people from all sorts of different backgrounds," Fenton says. "Some of us have made quite a few short films and some people haven't even picked up a camera before. There are people from design backgrounds, photography, writing - basically just all creatively talented people. It covers a little bit of everything and puts it together in one course."
Fenton tells FILMINK that he is well aware of the hard work he will have to put in to earn a living from working in the Australian film industry. "We only have a population of 20 million people and in cinemas about 90% of the films are from overseas, mainly America. Film doesn't have much private investment. Most of the investment comes from Screen Australia and the State funding bodies.
"With the deregulation of the television market it means that not much Australian content is made. Even a lot of ads and music videos are bought in from overseas. It's just that we don't have a large population and there are a lot of people out there that want to be filmmakers, so it's very difficult to break into," Fenton says.
Despite the challenges, Fenton says AFTRS really provides a unique and encouraging environment in which people can develop their talent. "It's a really creative environment to learn in. Everyone is really positive about just going for it and making your ideas happen. It's a really extraordinary environment."
For more information on AFTRS and the open days, visit the website.