Flinders has added sponsorship of a new $10,000 prize for documentary making to its record of education in screen and media and the outstanding achievements of its graduates in filmmaking.
The University is sponsoring the Australian Documentary Award as part of the Adelaide Film Festival.
“Documentary films are among the most immediate and insightful methods of communicating ideas and issues, and of sharing the lives and realities of others,” said Ms Diané Ranck, Director of the Marketing and Communications Office at Flinders.
“This award plays an important role by supporting and encouraging Australia’s up-and-coming documentary makers. It is a natural extension of Flinders’ contribution to the industry made through our programs of education and training in screen and media.”
Dr Alison Wotherspoon, Screen Production Coordinator in the Department of Screen and Media, said that Flinders graduates are coming into their own as significant players in local and national filmmaking and production.
Their recent track record in the production of short films, documentaries and feature films includes the film Double Happiness Uranium, produced by Flinders PhD student Tom Young and directed by lecturer Cole Larsen, and the futuristic fantasy series Wastelander Panda, written, directed and produced by graduates Victoria Cocks and Kirsty Stark.
Screen graduate Dario Russo, creator of the YouTube hit Italian Spiderman, has gone on to make two series of Danger 5 for SBS Television.
Award-winning short films by Flinders graduates include the drama The Palace by Anthony Maras and the documentary The Mystery of Flying Kicks by Matthew Bate, whose feature-length documentary Shut Up Little Man! has been shown internationally.
Graduates have also won numerous craft awards for cinematography, sound design, production design and editing.
The University’s reputation for training and education also continues to grow: last year Flinders joined with internationally acclaimed company Rising Sun Studios to add a short course in special effects design to its degree courses in screen and digital media.