Premiere screening of the first SFS IAB (Industry Advisory Board) funded project
Followed by Q&A with cast and crew
Presented by Popcorn Taxi
Moderated by Popcorn Taxi's Creative Director Chris Murray
Thursday December 15
1:30 - 3:00pm, Chauvel Cinema
Three IAB Pitch finalist pitched their projects on stage to a a judging panel and the audience at the 14th SFS Festival held in July this year.
The winner, Lotus Sonny, walked away with a $5,000 cash production budget. On December 15 at 1:30pm the film will have its premiere screening at the Chauvel Cinema followed by Q&A with cast and crew.
Written and directed by 2010 graduate Gary Sofarelli, Lotus Sonny is a sexual awakening drama about the psychological preparation one teenager goes through in order to be able to take the sexual plunge with his girlfriend.
Shooting for Lotus Sonny took place in and around Petersham and the inner city of Sydney over seven days and nights in early September. The crew consisted of a dedicated mix of SFS students and graduates.
This session is presented by Popcorn Taxi and will be moderated by its Creative Director Chris Murray.
Participating in Q&A:
1) Gary Sofarelli - Writer/Producer/Director
Gary Sofarelli is a 2010 Sydney Film School Graduate. At the Sydney Film School Gary learned to marry his analytical mind developed from a career in project finance with his creative passion for film to develop a deeper understanding of film production and film as a medium for expression.
Sofarelli has previously worked on director John Duigan’s (The Year My Voice Broke) feature, 'Careless Love' and on the feature film ‘Toomelah’ selected for the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. ‘Lotus Sonny’ is Sofarelli’s first attempt at writing, directing and producing outside of film school and he has other projects in the development pipeline. He plans to enter the film into festivals locally and globally.
2) Vitor Queiroz - DOP
Born in 1984 in Portugal, growing up in the small country town of Cartaxo. Had his introduction in a School of Arts and Design in Caldas da Rainha (ESAD.CR) to complete the Diploma Degree in Sound and Image, with specialization in the area of Image (Video and Photography).
After 2 years of freelance work in the camera department for both drama and TV, he decided to take a major step in his life, devoting everything to study film at Sydney Film School.
Currently living in Sydney where he develops his work as Cinematographer and a member of the camera department. Working in different formats and environments his work can be seen for example in short films like Beyond and The Art Of Walking (both directed by Gary Sofarelli), Pravda, Mamuchka, etc. Also assumes the position of Equipment Manager at Sydney Film School.
Showreel http://vimeo.com/20536499
3) Lee Launay – 1st Assistant Director
With his background as a Commercial Director’s Assistant, Lee saught out Sydney Film School wanting to expand his filmmaking knowledge and expertise. Since graduating Lee has gone on to work in Feature Films (Goddess, Careless Love), TV Shows (Wild Boys, Home & Away) and International Print (Rolling Stone); as well as heading departments as Production Designer or 1st AD across a number of Music Videos and Short Films.
4) Adam Grubner - Production Designer
Adam hails from New Zealand and is a graduate of the Brent Street School of Performing Arts in Sydney and has performed in a wide variety of roles as a dancer, singer and actor. He has also studied acting at The Actors College of Theatre and Television, and Scriptwriting at NIDA.
Most recently he was a member of the renowned children’s entertainment group The Hooley Dooley’s for which he has toured extensively across Australia performing in live stage shows, television appearances and major special events.
Adam is currently studying at Sydney Film School where he has worked on over 15 films. His artistic talents have allowed him to develop his skills in the area of production design. He also has a particular interest in screenwriting.
5) Claire Macdiarmid – Actress (plays Kathleen)
Claire started acting at the age of 8 when she appeared in her first stage production as Annie. Since then Claire had appeared in a variety of stage productions , studied acting and performance at Nida for four years and completed her last four years of school at McDonald college of performing arts after receiving a scholarship for drama in 2008.
Claire has appeared in commercials for Milo and WW , had a guest role on Home and away and just finished a short film called Lotus.
Claire has competed nationally in sports aerobics and hip hop dancing, studied singing for four years and plays the guitar and many sports.
Claire has recently completed her HSC and been awarded the medal of academic excellence from mcdonald college 2011.
Moderated by:
6) Chris Murray - Creative Director Popcorn Taxi
Formerly the Managing Editor for Australian Playboy, Chris launched and edited the internationally respected movie magazine, Empire, for Emap Australia which went on to win the prestigious MPA Award for Launch of the Year (2002).
During this period, Chris began his own regular slot on Channel 7's Sunrise as their weekly music/film reporter. Chris's other media outlets for film and music reporting/reviewing include weekly segments on Austereo's Triple M network, as well as 5AA in Adelaide. For the past decade, Chris's work has also been published internationally in Empire, FHM, Smash Hits, Kerrang!, and the music Street Press nationally; as well as editing the Australian Film Institute's 2003 Yearbook. Chris has since appeared on Showtime, The Movie Network, FOX News USA, Radio National and assorted broadcast media as a film reviewer and commentator.
Chris was a co-producer on the guerrilla feature film Fink! where he met Peter Taylor and recently wrote, developed and co-produced the TV series Erotic Star seen on Foxtel's Arena channel in March, and aired in the UK in 2006. During this time Chris formed Neon Pictures with producing partner Peter Taylor; and they are currently in development on numerous feature film and TV projects.
Chris also teamed up with animator Dan Creighton and won the NSW FTO Young Filmmakers grant and is currently producing an eclectic animated short entitled ‘Dog’.
