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Another Accolade for Aussie Filmmaker
Young filmmaker Julian Shaw was awarded the Best Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year at the Byron Bay Film Festival for his dramatic short film
Julian Shaw was recently awarded the prestigious Best Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year Award by the Byron Bay International Film Festival and Sydney International Film School for his powerful short film, Clearing the Air, a project which saw him team up with old school friend and rising star, Rhys Wakefield.
The pair, who attended Sydney's McDonald College of Performing Arts together, decided to collaborate when they were re-united at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival, where Shaw was accompanying his award winning documentary Darling! And Wakefield The Black Balloon, in which he starred. "We decided it would be a lot of fun to do something together," Shaw reflects.
Clearing the Air is set in a single hotel room overlooking Sydney International Airport, capturing an exchange between an estranged father (AFI Winner Marcus Graham) and son (Wakefield).
Shaw was quick to praise Wakefield's efforts calling him the "heart and soul of the film." Having performed in the highly acclaimed The Black Balloon, Wakefield has been selected to star in the new 3D movie, Sanctum, which James Cameron is executive producing. Shaw quips, "I'd like to think that I beat Mr. Cameron to it - because I spotted Rhys when he was about 11-years-old at the McDonald College and thought ‘this kid could be bloody brilliant.'"
This honour marks Shaw's first major award for a fictional piece of filmmaking with the young Australian observing, "This award means so much to me personally - to be recognised for a fictional work that I've written and directed."
However Shaw has also garnered praise and recognition in other areas including accolades from around the globe for his documentary Darling! The Pieter Dirk-Uys Story, including a British Film Institute gong. An AFI Award-winning film journalist, Shaw has also authored the groundbreaking photo novel Modern Odysseus which has earned enthusiastic reviews.
A young Australian with many creative talents, Shaw is keen to explore all. "People are always keen to pigeon-hole you, and while I've been on an amazing journey in the world of documentary, I do think I have more to offer. Clearing the Air is a lean and simple character study - but for me it is also the first step toward doing a fictional feature film."
For more on the Byron Bay International Film Festival see www.bbff.com.au. For more on Sydney International Film School see www.ifss.edu.au For more on Julian Shaw, visit his website.