latest news
James Cameron Loses Long Time Australian Collaborators
Producer Andrew Wight and cinematographer Mike deGruy lose their lives in a helicopter crash.
Tropfest Finalists Announced For 2012
Fifteen filmmakers have been shortlisted for the country’s biggest short film festival...
Inaugural AACTA Award Winners Announced
'Red Dog', 'Snowtown' and 'The Slap' proved the big winners of the night.
Aussie Films at the Box Office in 2011
See how our host of local flicks fared at the box office last year...
search the site
newsletter
Enter your email address below to receive the weekly Filmink newsletter
Read About It
AFTRS Class of 2009 celebrates at Luna Park, with wise words from Peter Garrett and Robert Connolly.
Amidst the sounds of carnival music and teenage screams raging in Sydney's iconic Luna Park, a more formal occasion was taking place in the theme park's Crystal Palace as the Australian Film Television Radio School (AFTRS) congratulated their 2009 graduates for completing a highly successful year.
Notable guest speakers and presenters included Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Arts, the Hon Peter Garrett AM MP, and Robert Connolly, writer and director of the highly acclaimed Balibo.
As the largest group to graduate from AFTRS, the 154 students seated in the award ceremony were receiving diplomas in areas such as screenwriting, directing, sound, music for the screen and radio broadcasting.
In addition to this, students graduating with Foundation Diplomas were congratulated as the first group to have undertaken a new multi-disciplinary course introduced to the AFTRS curriculum, aimed to create "a new generation of media students [for] a richer, more creative industry," according to CEO of AFTRS, Sandra Levy.
With a flock of talented and well trained students now ready to go out into the real world and put their learning to use, the significance of the AFTRS graduation was brought to the attention of the event's guests through Minister Garrett's opening address. As an individual who has participated in the entertainment industry as a former member of Midnight Oil, and a political advocate of the creative arts, no one could have been more appropriate to speak on the importance of young talent in fuelling and inspiring Australia's cultural policy.
Describing the graduation as a "marker between one's formal study period and the real work," Minister Garrett emphasised the essential role an institution like AFTRS plays in channelling young "talent and [their] capacity for hard work" into our film and television industry. In words of encouragement and inspiration, Garrett advised students to not "compromise on the standards you have as an artist" and to apply "the benefits of great training" provided by AFTRS into their future careers.
While Minister Garrett began the graduation on such an inspirational note, writer-director and AFTRS graduate, Robert Connolly, took part in the exciting end of the ceremony as he presented the Kenneth B. Myer scholarship to unsuspecting winners, Martha Godard and Carolyn Taylor-Anderson. Valued at $20,000, the Kenneth B. Myer scholarship is awarded to students of exceptional talent who demonstrate this in their projects and their coursework throughout the year.
As a personal friend of the Myer family, and having received a Kenneth Myer fellowship at his graduation in 1995, Connolly understood the importance of philanthropy in supporting the arts from personal experience, as he stated he was "profoundly grateful for the impact" the Myer award had in launching his career.
Two Foxtel scholarships, valued at $20,000 and $10,000, were also presented along with the European Union scholarship that enabled winners to attend film festivals in Finland and participate in workshops held in conjunction with the festivals.
With the wave of applause and the cheers from the AFTRS graduates, supporting and encouraging each other with every award presentation, the AFTRS graduation was not only an opportunity to congratulate the past work students had achieved in their courses, but also a celebratory moment for the beginning of careers that will undoubtedly contribute to creating a more innovative and rich industry for film and other media within Australia and abroad.