Skip to main content

Public Forum

Filmmaking Forum

People love to be swept off their feet, to go into an environment where they've never been, to experience things they only ever dream about.  And filmmaking offers that potential.
Peter Gruber

Stella Dimadis, Chair, Public Filmmaking Forum

So the greek Film Festival is in full swing in Melbourne and Sydney.  I'm excited to say the hard work that has gone in to organising the Greek Australian Short Film Festival, alongside Katerina Kotsonis and Jim Koutsoukos will all be unveiled tomorrow night, the 23rd of October in Melbourne and the 29th of October in Sydney.  There are two sessions this year, National Shorts and International Shorts.  There is an amazing array of films from both sections which are all vying for 'Best Film' with a cash prize of $1,000 each, the Greek Communities of Melbourne and New South Wales have provided for these.  I need to thank our sponsors, PWK Accounting Group and Icon Insurance Advisers who have both generously supported this event and of course Delphi Bank who support the overall Greek Film Festival.

 Greek Australian Short Film Festival

 As an audience we are thrown into incredible journey as perceived by the filmmakers in the creation of their films. This is such a buzz for us all.  This year the Greek Community as part of the Greek Film Festival and the Greek Australian Short Film Festival is hosting a Free Public Forum at Palace Cinemas, Como, South Yarra, the 25th of October at 2 pm with a group of eclectic individual who are all involved in the process of filmmaking from start to finish.  

 The free tickets can be booked through Event Brite. 

 filmmakingpaneldiscussion.eventbrite.com.au

Funding will be covered by Alan Crabbe, Co Founder and Director of Pozible.  Crowd Funding has become an important point of financial reference for filmmakers and Alan will cover the philosophy behind crowd funding, it's ability to help filmmakers get projects off the ground and the appropriate marketing needed to make this happen.

 -Alan Crabbe, Co Founder and Director, Pozible
Tony Ianiro, Founding Director  Backlot Studios

There will be some input on this front from Tony Ianiro, who is one of the founding directors of Backlot Studios, a distribution and Post Production Services company in Melbourne and more recently in Perth.  Tony will also provide some information on distribution and the importance of this in accessing public funding.  

Jason Raftopoulos is a writer, director, producer and IF Award winner for his film From Dope to Dalai Lama; this won the  2010 IF Award for Best Short Documentary and is currently being developed into a narrative feature.  Jason will cover income sources for filmmaking, festivals and inspiration for stories.

 -Jason Raftopoulos, Director/writer/producer.


Blake Borcich, director/Producer, Laroda Films, Write-Me Australia

Blake Borcich is a director, producer who has won over 31 awards for his films.  Resistance has been phenomenally successful.  He heads Laroda Films and has created a new initiative for Australian writers, called Write-Me Australia.  Blake will be discussing Festival circuits, Funding and his new initiative for writers. 
https://vimeo.com/106078491

In creating films the support of the community is imperative.  I am proud to be associated with the Greek Community of Melbourne and Sydney who have been true visionaries in supporting established and emerging filmmakers.  The Greek Australian Short Film Festival, and the public forum on filmmaking are all an attestation to this.  Join me on Saturday the 25th of October at Palace Cinema, Como, South Yarra at 2pm.  A very big thank you to Katerina Kotsonis and Jim Koutsoukos whose co curatorship kudos has been well embraced.



Stella Dimadis
October, 2014.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future.

"Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future. "   Corrie Ten Boom Corrie Ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker, who had helped many Jews escape during the Holocaust, was a prisoner and then a writer.  She held many memories, no doubt, fears; images that would stay forever and haunt her, but they were able to unlock a future for her that she would never have imagined.  Her writing and her boldness initiated her knighthood by the Queen of the Netherlands, The King's College in New York City named a new women's house in her honour, her book "The Hiding Place", was  made into a feature film, twice. Locked away in our computer hard drives are examples of our work and lives that we lock away when our computer sleeps, forgetting about their importance because we are always told to focus on the now, forgetting about our past.  Well, perhaps it is time that we also learn to love our past, regardless of what it was like, so that we can understand what our...
Post a Comment
Read more
 RENTAL FAMILY "Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family." -  Anthony Brandt . My days became one jumbled hour after hour where time disappeared into another year, until here we are, the 1st of January 2026.  Nothing much stirred me to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, until this evening after  watching RENTAL FAMILY, starring Brendan Fraser.  Phillip Vanderploeg is a struggling actor who is selected to fill in for families as an individual with significance to the family member in need.  He is a writer, dad, mourner, not so much as a true story but reminiscent of Japanese companies serving the community by providing professional actors at events like funerals or weddings. Thereby formulating a whole new meaning to the responsibilities of a plus one. At its core, the film celebrates the connection of the human spirit; the inherent social need that humans have to socialising, being together, in all asp...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Art In Healing

  "Our creativity is what enables us to function, day to day, in a changing environment, without it we would not be a surviving species". Richard Hill ‘The Art In Healing’ explores the role that creativity and art  play in people’s lives, particularly when personal trauma occurs or when people are afflicted by natural disasters. The inspiration for the film came about by contemplating the questions; ‘Why is art such an important aspect to civilisation and our society’? and ‘Does the human brain benefit from interacting with art, and if so, how’? From these questions a number of people offered their experience and research, especially in describing brain plasticity and the ability of the brain to rewire after an artistic experience. ‘The Art In Healing’ showcases a number of professionals, ranging from art therapists Simona Weinstein and Cornelia Elbrecht, therapist Richard Hill, musicians, Merelyn and David Carter, artist, Dr Anne Riggs, street artist, Amanda Newman...
Post a Comment
Read more