By Travis Johnson
Strange Colours, the first feature from Russian-born, Melbourne-based filmmaker Alena Lodkina, has won the Blackmagic Design Best Australian Independent Film Award at the Gold Coast Film Festival.
Described as “An inverted response to Wake in Fright“, the film follows a young woman who travels to a remote opal mining community to see her estranged, ill father and finds a bewildering world, where men escape society and share ideals of freedom.
Lodkina’s prize includes $10,000 worth of equipment and software from Blackmagic Design, including a URS Mini 4.6K EF Camera. The prize was judged by film critics Luke Buckmaster, Lauren Carroll Harris, Cerise Howard and Rochelle Siemienowicz.
Queer-themed sci-fi drama Pulse won the Best Australian Independent Film Peer Award at the festival. Director Stevie Cruz-Martin won a cash prize of $500 thanks to The Green Room app, plus a software package from Blackmagic Design.
The Gold Coast Film Festival also awarded $8000 in cash prizes for its national short film competition SIPFEST: Shorts in Paradise, presented by Surfers Paradise Alliance, which was judged by Anthony Kierann of Event Cinemas, Michael Sergi of Bond University, Diya Eid of Screen Queensland and filmmaker and radio host Heather Maltman.
iRONY, by Perth’s Radheya Jegatheva won the $3000 Best Film prize, while Brisbane filmmaker Krystle Wright won the $1000 Runner Up Best Film prize for A Restless Peace.
Finally, Bond University student Max Barden won the EMERGE! student short film prize of $250 for his film The Wand.
The Gold Coast Film Festival continues until Sunday 29th April.
