On Saturday, 25 June, community members and festival guests were treated to a Screen Acting Masterclass consisting of warm-ups, acting exercises, and exploration of scripts developed for Film Fiji’s Kula Awards, where Tukuna Acting Club was founded in 2015.
Participants learned the fundamentals of working on set, and how to perform as an actor on camera in a variety of scenes and styles. The workshop was repeated on Tuesday, 28, at the festival’s Kids Club.
Facilitator Matt Young said of the experience, “As a professional acting coach, I’m always thrilled to work with first time actors. The honesty and authenticity they bring to a script is refreshing. One of the goals of Tukuna is to make acting training accessible to everyone, regardless of location, lived experience, cultural background or socioeconomic status. Being invited by VSOFF 2022 to work within the community was an absolute joy. And it looks like all of the actors from our ‘casting workshop’ were invited by the student filmmakers to participate in the films being made to screen in the Short Film Competition on the Closing Night of the Festival.”
The acting classes took place in Winton’s historic Royal Theatre, in front of the giant movie screen where festival favourites played at night. Participants were of all ages, from nine to seventy-five years old, and provided a cross section of the local and visiting community. Workshops were presented in a stress free, professional manner, and gave participants a practical experience of preparing dialogue and character for the screen.
Winton resident Janice Evert, who took part in the casting workshop, shared her thoughts, “I really enjoyed having an insight into the casting process. We all had lots of fun. Not sure how our acting parts will be up on the big screen.. at least we can say we had a go!” She added, “ Some young people we know were in Winton for the film festival, and attended the Kids Club session. They all enjoyed the experience.”
Actor and acting coach for Tukuna Acting Club, Fikrte Bushell summed it up by saying, “It was an honour to be a part of the Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival 2022. It was such a beautiful experience to connect with the outback and the locals. So many stories, great films, activities and vibes. I also enjoyed being in conversation with well established industry creatives – it was both informative and inspiring. Coaching the actors was super fun – there was so much discovery, authenticity and ‘aha’ moments – which I loved. It felt like I was on a film set the whole time I was in Winton, you don’t see locations like that in the city! Thank you VSOFF 2022 – looking forward to next year.”
Next year marks the 10 year anniversary of the festival, with Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival 2023 dates announced from 23 June – 1 July, 2023.
