Latest Notices

AFTRS Announces Two $50,000 Creative Fellowships

GENERAL: The AFTRS Creative Fellowship - a unique offering designed to fund daring and adventurous projects from talented individuals – has this year been awarded to two emerging filmmakers.

Carl Firth and Damien Power will each receive $50,000 to write and direct a short film.

“Creative Fellowship applicants were invited, this year, to submit a short film proposal that was adventurous in its aims, bold in its ambition, and innovative in its execution. Both Carl and Damien submitted exceptional proposals,” said Sandra Levy, AFTRS CEO.

Now in its fourth year, the AFTRS Creative Fellowship is designed to advance the work of outstanding creative voices in the screen arts and broadcasting sector.

Carl Firth has won the Creative Fellowship for his project 'The Immortal' – a short film following a man’s quest for immortality – and what happens when he gets it.

Damien Power won the Creative Fellowship for his project – 'Detours' – a short film that intercuts the Edgar J Ulmer film 'Detour' with a new story about a woman in the grip of an existential crisis.

Damien fell in love with movies as a teenager in Launceston, Tasmania, when he joined the local film society. Damien is a directing graduate of AFTRS and, since graduation, he’s written and directed several award-winning shorts, including 'Peekaboo', winner of the 2011 Showtime Talent Assist Scheme award, Best Editing Awards at Flickerfest and the WOW Festival, plus the SBS Award and Audience Award also at the WOW Festival.

In 2012 his films 'Bat Eyes' and 'Boot' were selected as two of the 50 semi-finalists (from 15,000 submissions worldwide) in YouTube/Scott Free’s inaugural Your Film Festival.

“This is an amazing opportunity to work in a really free way. 'Detours' is a passion project of mine, a much more experimental piece than my produced short films. The AFTRS Creative Fellowship will allow me to push my storytelling further, exploring themes that have always been a part of my work in new ways,” Damien said.

Carl is a filmmaker from Sydney. In 2009, he directed the short comedy 'The Water', which screened at several international festivals and won the audience award at the Newtown Short Film Festival. He has worked in a variety of roles on features such as 'Australia', 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine', 'Paradise Lost', 'The Great Gatsby', 'The Wolverine' and the television series 'House Husbands'. In 2012 he was a director’s attachment on 'House Husbands', and he is currently completing his new short film 'The Witching Hour'.

On receiving news of his Fellowship, Carl said: “I am honoured to be one of the recipients of the 2013 AFTRS Creative Fellowship. It is an incredible opportunity that will push my abilities as a filmmaker - I cannot wait to undertake this journey.”

State:

NSW

Location:

Sydney

Website:

http://www.aftrs.edu.au/explore/creative-fellowship.aspx