Reel success for young filmmaker
A SHORT comedy film about the consequence of greed has earned budding director Ryan Butler a spot in one of the country's most vibrant and dynamic film festivals.
The 22-year-old will pit his film against some of the world's best filmmakers this week, at the prestigious Cockatoo Island Film Festival.
The five-day event held in Sydney will showcase 100 international and Australian films and 200 shorts and documentaries.
Mr Butler, an Applied Media student at the University of Southern Queensland's Springfield Campus, said he hadn't wiped the smile from his face since his film was nominated.
"I knew the writer/producer of the film, Terrance Young, had entered the film in a number of festivals world-wide, but I wasn't sure which ones," he said.
"As soon as I found out about the nomination I raced home to look at our film listed on the festival website and that's when it all sunk in.'
The short comedy film, titled Magica, will compete against six others short listed in the division of Magical Mystery Tour.
Films screened in the category celebrate storytelling that explores the unusual, unimaginable and seemingly unreal.
Mr Butler said the process of making the film had been a challenging but enjoyable experience.
"The cast members and production crew who worked on this project have become like one big family," he said.
"So it was a lot of fun getting together to make this film."
Mr Butler said he was looking forward to screening his film to a large, public audience and meeting fellow filmmakers during the event.
Faculty of Arts associate director (Springfield) Dr Daryl Sparkes said competition to have a film shown at the Cockatoo Island Film Festival was fierce.
"This achievement demonstrates the calibre of not only Ryan's film, but Ryan as a film director," he said.
The Cockatoo Film Festival runs from October 24 to October 28.
