I’ve just returned from another fabulous CinefestOz Film Festival where I attended film screenings, award ceremonies and gala events, filmmaker Q&As, and industry panels, which have left me educated and inspired!
I particularly loved the Industry Programme which consisted of two full days of panels featuring writers, directors, producers, distributors, streamers, production designers, etc. and covering feature film, TV, documentary, animation and VFX.
I loved hearing from the successful female headlining guests:
– Australian Deborah Riley: a four-time Emmy Award winner and one of the world’s most sought-after Production Designers, who gave a fascinating presentation and Q&A on her work on Game of Thrones! It was awesome to see the inspiration for the sets, how all the elements came together, and hear about all the hard work behind the scenes. I also love Aussie success stories! Looking forward to seeing her work on the 3 Body Problem.
– American Debbie Liebling, Emmy nominated film and television producer and studio executive behind hits like South Park and Dodgeball. She had us in stitches with her behind the scenes South Park tales.
I was also honoured to represent the Australian Writers Guild at the Short Film Awards, presenting Best Screenwriter! Congrats to Darcy Prendergast who won for ‘Strange Beasts’ and to all the other winners and finalists.
Such a great festival!
