By Travis Johnson
Emily Avila, Lara Kose, Goran Stolevski, and Thomas Baricevic have won this year’s Lexus Australia Short Film Fellowship, with each of the film practitioners receiving a $50,000 grant to make a short film.
The four emerged from a field of 20 candidates for the fellowship, and were selected by a panel that included actor and director David Wenham as chair, Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley, Lexus Australia’s Vin Naidoo, and Australian producers Kath Shelper and Sandra Levy.
The announcement was made at the the world premiere of the inaugural 2016 Lexus Australia Short Film Fellowship, where last year’s recipients, Anya Beyersdorf, Brooke Goldfinch, Alex Ryan, and Alex Murawski, showed their respective films, How the Light Gets In, Outbreak Generation, Red Ink and Snow as part of the Sydney Film Festival.
“These four young filmmakers have shown considerable tenacity and drive in the early years of their careers, persuading our jury they will do something really special with the incredible opportunity this fellowship provides,” Wenham remarked. “What is really exciting is each filmmaker’s strong commitment to telling diverse stories. I’m thrilled we have four young talented Australian filmmakers with such unique perspectives and a passion to create meaningful works that will connect and resonate with Australian and global audiences.”
“The Festival is proud to announce four more Lexus Australia Short Film fellows,” added Moodley. “The fellows have had some exceptional filmmaking experience already, and have shown a commitment to the industry and community. The jury believes these filmmakers are ready to take the next step in their careers as they navigate a $50,000 filmmaking project, bring together their chosen team, and work with industry mentors. The Festival is equally proud to be the platform for the films they create in 2018.”
The Brisbane-based Emily Avila has worked extensively in the Australian industry, including a stint as assistant to Oscar-winning producer Emile Sherman at See-Saw Films. Her first short, In a Cane Field, premiered at the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival, and has won two short film awards.
Lara Kose is a Melbourne-based writer-director-editor whose recent short, Crush, has screened at film festivals internationally.
Macedonian-born Goran Stolevski’s work focuses on female, multicultural and LGBT protagonists, and he was selected for this year’s Berlinale Talent Campus. He has made more than 20 short films which have screened at more than 60 festivals around the world.
Thomas Baricevic is a screenwriter-director-producer who has worked extensively in the film industry creating films, documentaries and music videos.
Congratulations to all, and we look forward to seeing the results next year.
