Origin8 Fast Film Festival (Toowoomba) – Guest Judge with John Batchelor

I was thrilled to join actor, John Batchelor (RED DOG), and Toowoomba Councilwoman, Ros Scotney, as judge of the Origin8 Fast Film Festival. Back for its third year, budding filmmakers are given a theme and twenty-four hours to make a film of up to 8 minutes for a chance to win up to $10,000 in prizes. Watching the films screen at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, just a day after they were made, was inspiring. Well done to all the winners. We expect big things to follow.
Prizes were awarded in the following categories:

Best Fast Film ($5,000 cash) – PAPER ROUNDS
Best Script and Concept: Xiran He ($500) – MY PERFECT FAMILY
Best Individual Performance ($500) – split prize – Michael Sloane – PAPER ROUNDS
Best Individual Performance ($500) – split prize – Jade Paskins – MAKE THICK MY BLOOD
Best Cinematography ($500) – Ben Cotgrove – MAKE THICK MY BLOOD
Best Sound Design ($500): Josh Beattie – MAKE THICK MY BLOOD

Empire Theatre welcomes back the Origin8 Fast Film Festival – if.com.au
[Mon 04/07/2011 9:32 PM]
Back for its third year, the Origin8 Fast Film Festival is promising to be bigger and better!
For the first time, groups outside the Toowoomba region may submit their films online, allowing entrants to participate from all over the world! Origin8 is a 24 hour film-making competition open to budding Speilbergs of all ages. Teams of up to 8 people can register for the events, held over the weekend of August 12 – 14, 2011. 

Empire Theatre Artistic Director, Lewis Jones, said the Origin8 Fast Film Festival was about originality, creativity and innovation. “Origin8 has been designed specifically to provide an opportunity for emerging film-makers to develop their skills and be rewarded for their efforts,” Mr Jones said. “In 2011 we are encouraging people not only in the Toowoomba region, but further afield, to get a team together, get creative and join in the fun!” he said. 

In 2010, Toowoomba mother Sita Borhani did not think she could become an award winning filmmaker in just one night. But she soon realised that anything was possible with The Empire Theatre’s Origin8 Fast Film Festival. She sat patiently at the festival’s Top8 Screening and humbly told her four-year-old daughter they probably would not win the top prize.
But the quirky film, For Layla, about the trials of modern marriage and parenting conjured up by her and husband, Borhan, proved the perfect recipe for triumph. Mrs Borhani heard about the festival by chance from a friend involved with the Empire Theatre. She immediately knew she had to throw caution to the wind and enter. “My husband has family who have been heavily involved in the Bollywood film industry and he’s always been interested in cinematography, so he was interested in lighting and designing the shots and filming.

“I’ve always loved writing and developing creative pieces, so we thought we’d make a good team,” she said. “To make it to the top eight films in the competition was incredible for us, and as I watched the other films, which were excellent, I thought ‘no way are we winning this!’.” “Our short film, For Layla, was a quirky and heartfelt look at our suburban family life with our two gorgeous kids. It was a comment on some of the trials of the modern marriage and parenting and how they can be overcome,” she said. 

Mrs Borhani said just being involved was the most exciting aspect of the festival. “I love the fact that it is such a rush to the finish line. It is great fun. Because I have a young family I can’t afford to spend months making a short film, so the idea of it all being done in 24 hours really appeals to my husband and me,” she said. This year, Colin Mackay & The Good Guys, together with the Empire Theatres Foundation, will provide the prize pool, which includes $5000 cash for the best fast film, $500 cash for best individual performance, best script or concept, best cinematography, best 18 and under and best sound design. 

Also for the first time, there will be an award for the best school entry, with the winning team walking away with an E-Camera Stabiliser, worth $770, from Evolution Studios. Team registrations for Origin8 Fast Film Festival must be received by Friday 12 August when teams collect their “Integr8 list” of special themes which their films must be based on.
Finished films are to be submitted on Saturday 13 August by 8pm and the screening of the Top 8 films will be held at the Empire Theatre on Sunday 14 August at 6.30pm. 

For more information check out the Empire Theatre website: www.empiretheatre.com.au

http://if.com.au/2011/07/04/article/PHZPBKTQFH.html

REVIEW: Josh Beattie

Last weekend I was one of a crew of six to attend the Orign8 Fast Film festival. We drove to Toowoomba (a 3 hour drive from Brisbane) with no idea what we were about to make, turned up to the opening ceremony at 8pm and final submissions were due at 8pm the following night!

What followed was a frantic day of brainstorming, making fake blood out of sauce, trying to use our cars as dollies, and sustaining ourselves on toast and energy drinks. We ended up pulling together some kind of… er, well, I suppose you’d call it a film… 15 minutes before the deadline!

But it worked out okay… we ended up getting awards for Best Cinematographer, Best Performance, and Best Sound Design! And we got to meet all the other teams and have a chat to them afterwards- made some friends and got some solid advice.

I was over the moon when one of the panel members turned out to be Ross Grayson Bell – one of the producers to Fight Club- and we got to have a lengthy chat to him afterwards and get some insight into how to go about this whole ‘career’ thing. So cool, man.

So thanks to the Empire Theatre and everyone involved in putting together Origin8, and thanks and congratulations to the rest of my awesome cast and crew:

Jade Paskins as ‘Girl’
Josh Hammond – Executive Producer
Angelina Phengphong – Producer/1st AC
Ben Cotgrove – cinematographer
Cameron Dunlop – editor

http://glitchpoet.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/origin8-fast-film-festival.html

Paper Rounds – Origin8 Fast Film Festival Entry 2011