Our 2018 Stellar 12 Filmmakers
Director: Mirene Igwabi
Film: Adele
Bio: Writer/Director Mirene Igwabi was born in Democratic Republic of Congo. At age four she experienced civil war in Congo in 1996, and her family took refuge in Uganda. In 2007, she moved to Australia where she graduated from high school and went on to university to study business. During her studies, Mirene started creating YouTube videos as a hobby, which lead her to travel around Australia hosting concerts for one of Africa’s biggest musical acts. During these tours, she discovered a love for film, so she embarked on film degree at SAE Creative Media Institute in Brisbane. Her graduation film, Adele, has received numerous accolades, including Best Director at St Kilda Film Festival and Best Live Action Short at Sydney Film
Director: Jem Rankin
Film: Cherokee
Bio: Melbourne local Jem Rankin is a writer-director who graduated from the Victorian College of The Arts Film School in 2014. His graduate film “Cherokee” has played at a number of festivals including the Melbourne International Film Festival 2015, Sydney Film Festival 2015 and FlickerFest 2016. Cherokee made it’s International Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival 2016 in New York.
Director: Tel Benjamin
Film: Ladylike
Bio: Tel Benjamin is an Actor, Screenwriter and Director based in Sydney, Australia.
TV credits include Kick on Kings (Dope Source Media), Growing up Gracefully (ABC) and Dead Scientists (Beyond Productions). Feature and short film credits include The Passenger (St Kilda Film Festival 2015), Noah (Official Selection LA Comedy Festival 2015), The Milky Pop Kid (Sydney Film Festival 2017), Granny (Lightbulb Head Films), The Greenhouse (AFTRS), Miss! (Flying Man Films) and The Great Gatsby (Bazmark)
Theatre credits include Beyond Therapy (Epicentre Theatre), School for Scandal (New Theatre), Fracture (New Ghosts Productions), Taming of the Shrew (Montague Basement), GR8 Skin (Darlinghurst Theatre Company), Osama the Hero (Tooth and Sinew) and The Telescope (Red Line Productions).
In 2014 Tel started his production company Chekhov’s Gun Pictures with his debut short film Noah premiering at the LA Comedy Festival 2015. Since then he has written and directed two other films: Ladylike, winner of the audience award at Sydney Underground Film Festival 2017 (Sydney Underground Film Festival 2017, Australia’s Funniest Shorts 2017, Flickerfest International Short Film Festival 2018) and Setaceous (Fantastic Fest 2017, A Night of Horror Film Festival 2017, Horror Show Hotdog Film Festival 2017, Portland International Film Festival 2018) both of which are currently on the festival circuit.
Tel recently completed an ABC & Create NSW funded pilot for his Virtual Reality Mini-Series, The Obscure.
He has also written and directed commercial content through Chekhov’s Gun for high profile clients such as Netflix and Urban Walkbout.
Tel holds and Advanced Diploma of Performing Arts (Actors Centre Australia 2014)
Director: Julietta Boscolo
Film: Lets's See How Fast This Baby Can Go
Bio: Julietta Boscolo tell stories that reveal the original in the everyday. And inspire audiences to discover something new about the world and themselves.
Out of a record-breaking 452 applications, Julietta’s project Sunshine was one of 45 stories to be funded through Screen Australia’s Gender Matters initiative. She also received Screen Australia Hot Shots funding to direct Let's See How Fast This Baby Will Go (as featured on This American Life) which was preselected for Cannes Critics Week.
Julietta graduated with a Masters in Directing from the Victorian College of the Arts. That year, she was one of only 35 filmmakers worldwide to be invited to the Edinburgh International Film Festival's Talent Lab and received Screen NSW’s Emerging Filmmakers Fund for Sam’s Gold. She was also one of three filmmakers nominated for an If Award for Rising Talent.
Sam’s Gold was one of a handful of films to screen on ABC’s The Screening Room. According to ABCTV: ‘The Screening Room showcases the best Australian short films from emerging film makers and cutting-edge visionaries’.Julietta also won the Australian Directors Guild Award for Best Direction in a Short Film for the film.
On the feature front, Julietta was one of nine directors worldwide invited to the Directors Lab at Binger Filmlab in Amsterdam, supported by Screen Australia’s Talent Escalator. Selected for Screen Australia’s highly competitive Directors Attachment Scheme on Playmaker Media’s Love Child, she directed a number of scenes for the show, including the opening scenes of the two episodes she worked on, starring Miranda Tapsell and Andy Ryan.
Julietta has several longform projects in development and is looking for new opportunities to discover original stories.
Director: Romi Trowler
Film: No One is Listening Anymore
Bio: Romi Trower is an Australian director, writer, producer and actress. Her short films Chocolate Cake and No One Is Listening Anymore! both premiered at the Aspen Shortsfest and screened at festivals including The Melbourne International Film Festival, The Cleveland International Film Festival and The Zurich International Film Festival. Most recently, Romi premiered her first feature film What If It Works?, produced by Tristram Miall (Strictly Ballroom). The film travelled the international film festival circuit throughout 2017, winning multiple prizes in the USA, Canada and Australia, and garnering many more nominations. The film was released into cinemas in Australia in late 2017 and will have it’s US release in 2018 through Gravitas Ventures. Romi is currently developing a TV series and her next feature film project set in New York City.
Director: Sean Lahiff
Film: Smashed
Bio: Sean Lahiff is an accomplished Picture Editor, VFX Editor and award-winning short film director. Sean’s short SMASHED, which he co-wrote, directed and edited, had its World Premiere at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival and earned Sean the 'Best Director' accolade at the 2017 South Australian Screen Awards. His previous short film, the horror-comedy short Too Dark earned Sean the 'Best Director' award at the 2016 Peninsula Short Film Festival. Sean's Picture Editor credits include Craig Lahiff’s Swerve and Scott Hicks' feature documentary Highly Strung. Sean has edited the Greg Mclean films Wolf Creek 2, The Darkness (starring Kevin Bacon) and Jungle(starring Daniel Radcliffe). Sean’s currently editing the sci-fi thriller I Am Mother starring Hilary Swank. Sean was a visual effects editor on Gravity, The Great Gatsby and many more.
Director: Derin Seale
Film: The Eleven O'Clock
Bio: Derin Seale is a Cannes, One Show and NY Festivals Gold winning director. He was raised in a family of cineastes and spent a lot of his formative years on set. He started directing action sequences in the Hollywood features ‘Cold Mountain’ and ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’, putting him in great stead to create work of visually epic proportions. This was never more evident than in his short film that helped the nation of Qatar win the hosting of the 2022 Football World Cup.
Based in Australia, Seale also works internationally, directing campaigns in the US and Europe. His performance-driven spot ‘Mistakes’, for the New Zealand Transport Authority continues to be celebrated worldwide, with over 14 million views on YouTube. Seale’s direction of the spot was highly celebrated at advertising award shows globally, including gold for Direction at Cannes Lions. Recently Seale directed the campaign ‘Stop It At The Start’, for the Australian Government, aimed at reducing violence against women in future generations. Hugely successful, the campaign has received extensive coverage by global TV, online and print publishers and top Australian influencers, reaching 15.5 million views online after just one week.
In 2016 Derin released his short film ‘The Eleven O’clock’ attracting global recognition across the short film circuit. The film was awarded Winner of Best Comedy Short at LA Shorts Fest, winner of Best Screenplay at Flickerfest International Film Festival, winner for Best Narrative Short at Cleveland International Film Festival. The Eleven O’clock also made Official Selection at Toronto International Film Festival, Valladolid International Film Festival, St Kilda International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival and Sydney Film Festival Dendy Awards. Most recently the film has received an AACTA Award for Best Live Action Short and has been nominated in the Live Action category at The 90th Academy Awards.
On the roster at Finch five years, Derin is highly sort after, with directing credits across: BMW, Tiger Beer, Telstra, LG and Toyota. Derin’s ability to make clear choices on location, combined with his skill for careful pre-visualization and his interest in classically dramatic but visually imaginative stories makes him one of the most talented directors in his field.
Director: Matt Day
Film: The Mother Situation
Bio: Matt Day has established a reputation as one of Australia’s leading film and television actors having appeared in numerous television series including Rake, Tangle, Hell Has Harbour Views, My Brother Jack and series two of Wolf Creek. Feature credits includeSweet Country, Dance Academy Touch,My Year Without Sex, Love and Other Catastrophes, Muriel’s Wedding, Woody Allen’s Scoop, and Kiss or Kill, for which he received nominations for a Film Critic Circle Award and an AFI Award for Best Actor. Hisinternational television credits include Shackleton (with Kenneth Branagh), The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Commander, Spooks, Hotel Babylon, Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Bruce Beresford’s And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself. Short films as writer/director include The Mother Situation (winner best film, best screenplay, best actress Tropfest 2017) Perry (2016 St Kilda Short Film Festival, Palm Springs ShortFest 2016, CineWest 2016, Flickerfest 2017) Wish (Turner Classic Shorts 2008 Special Mention, 2008 London Film Festival, 2008 Encounters Short Film Festival, 2008 Foyle Film Festival, 2008 Edinburgh International Film Festival, 2008 Stockholm Film Festival) Beat (2011 St Kilda Film Festival) Title Card (co-written and directed with Brendan Cowell (Flickerfest 2016, 2016 St Kilda Short Film Festival) and My Everything (2003 Toronto Short Film Festival, 2003 Borges En Curt International Short Film Festival).
Director: Jennifer Perrott
Film: The Ravens
Bio: Jennifer is an award-winning writer/director/producer working between Europe and Australia who won a Best Young Director Award at the Broadcastnow / BBC B+Young Talent Awards. She has directed prime time UK and Australian TV drama and attended the selective Binger Lab in Amsterdam as a writer/director of her feature script Winter Sun (Dust of Life), also a semi Finalist in 2013 International BlueCat Screenplay competition.
Director: Venetia Taylor
Film: Venice
Bio: VENETIA TAYLOR studied English literature at Sydney University, Australia. Short films: Terror on the Northside, The Palace, Distant Thunder, Brittany, Garbo, Ave Maria, The Future, Date With Fate, Counsellor & Venice.Theatre: Terror on The Northside.
FILMOGRAPHY
2015 Venice (short)2014 Counsellor (short)2012 Ave Maria (short)2012 Date The Fate (short)2011 The Future (short)2011 Garbo (short)2011 Distant Thunder (short)2011 Brittany (short)2011 The Palace (short)2010 Terror On The Northside (short)
AWARDS
2017 Best Comedy (Canberra Short Film Festival, AU)
2017 Highly Commended (Women Over 50 Film Festival, UK)
2016 Best Creative Idea (Corto Corto Mon Amour, Italy)
2016 Best Original Story (Metricamente Corto, Italy)
2016 Highly Commended for Effective Simplicity (Dungog Short Film Competition, AU)
2016 Best Short Short (Gioiosa In Corto, Italy)
2016 Audience Award Best Short (Stony Brook Film Festival, US)
2016 Best Comedy (Freshflix, AU)
2016 Audience Award (I Corti dei Fabbri, Italy)
2016 Relay Service Audience Award for Best Film (Young at Heart Film Festival, AU)
2016 Best ‘Videoclip’ (La Spezia Short Movie Awards, Italy)
2016 People’s Choice Award (Benalla Short Film Festival, AU)
2016 Judges Award (Benalla Short Film Festival, AU)
2015 Winner ‘Short Videotalkers’ (Graffi Visual Cultures Festival, Italy)
2015 People’s Choice Award (IndieFlicks, UK)
2015 Youth Jury Award for Best Mini Film (Kratka Forma, Serbia)
2015 Best Short Film ‘SuperCorto’ (Kecorto Film Festival, Italy)
2015 Best Short Film (Corto e a Capo, Italy)
2015 Special Mention for Best Foreign Short (Corto Aperto, Italy)
2014 Judges Award (Benalla Short Film Festival, AU)
2014 Best International Film (Thurrock International Film Festival, UK)
2014 Tally Shorts Film Festival Favourite (Tally Shorts, US)
2013 Audience Award Best Short (YES Film Festival, US)
2013 Digital Film Award (San Francisco Frozen Film Festival, US)
2013 Best of Fest Winner (Rochester International Film Festival, US)
2012 Best International Short Film (Screen Stockport Film Festival, UK)
2012 Best Short Short (Harlem International Film Festival, US)
2012 Best Comedy (Poppy Jasper Film Festival, US)
2012 Best Film (Janison Short Sharp Film Festival, AU)
2012 Best Short Short Comedy (Detroit Windsor Int. Film Festival, US)
2012 Best International Short Comedy (Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, UK)
2011 Best Film (Boohoo Short Film Competition, AU)
2010 Most Popular Film (Over The Fence Comedy Film Festival, AU)
2010 Audience Choice Award (Sandfly Film Festival, AU)
2010 Bin Laughing Award (In The Bin Film Festival, AU)
2009 Best Short Comedy (WOW Film Festival, AU)
2009 Best Screenplay (WOW Film Festival, AU)
2008 Best New Talent (Short & Sweet Play Festival, AU)
2008 Best Script (Short & Sweet Play Festival, AU)
2008 Best Overall Production (Short & Sweet Play Festival, AU)
Director: Claire Randall
Film: Wolfe
Bio: Claire Randall was born in Brisbane, after studying Film and Screen Media at Griffith university she found a passion for documentary production. Due to developing depression in her late teenage years, she has focused mainly on mental illness and social awareness documentary subjects. Choosing to shy away from the cliché and stereotypical, Claire brings a unique twist to the documentary form using animation, independent musical scores, and single shot interviews with intriguing visual styles to spur the audience's attention and intrigue. Her latest documentary, Wolfe, is a perfect example of these film techniques being used to explore a young man's experiences with schizophrenia from childhood through puberty up until his diagnosis in his early twenties.
Director: Richard Coburn
Film: You and Me
Bio: Richard is an award winning writer/director who always writes his bio in the third person.
He's created content for all types of screens and mediums, from mobiles to the sides of buildings and stadiums. For web, tv and cinema audiences to opera, music festival or concert crowds. His advertising work has seen him win the AADC's Master's Chair twice and he was the recipient of the AADC's 2016 President's Award for outstanding contribution to the Industry. His music video work for artists such as Hilltop Hoods and A.B. Original has been nominated for best video at the ARIA and MTV awards as well as winning a number of music awards around the country.