AFTRS students and alumni to shine at 2025 Sydney Film Festival with 14 films selected

Three student films from the Master of Arts Screen program at AFTRS will have their world premieres at the Sydney Film Festival 2025. Meanwhile, 11 AFTRS alumni works will be screened.

The announcement:

Three films from students in the AFTRS Master of Arts Screen program will have their World Premieres at the 2025 Sydney Film Festival.

Bringing His Spirit Home, directed by Dylan Nicholls, will be in competition for the First Nations Award; Interview With a Hero, directed by Andy ‘Celeste’ Diep will compete in the Dendy Awards; and Ferryman, directed by Daniel Duque, will also screen at the Festival.

Another 11 films screening at Sydney this year have been created by AFTRS alumni, including four new feature films, four documentary and three retrospective screenings.

Dylan Nicholls’ Bringing His Spirit Home was produced by Sophia Carolyn Wallace with cinematographer T. Oxford and editor Jack Charter, all AFTRS Masters students.

Dylan is a Dubbo filmmaker and Yuwaalaraay man who has been working with families to recognise the contributions and bravery of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Great War. Gomeroi man William Allan Irwin DCM has become the first soldier in history to be named an honorary citizen of France’s Somme region, more than a century after his death in the First World War. In this film, William Allan Irwin’s great-nephew, Peter Milliken, travels to France to visit his grave, performing a traditional ceremony to bring his spirit home.

Dylan says: “The whole team is very excited! We’ve all put so much work into this film this past year. Bringing His Spirit Home is a film about a Gomeroi man who travels to France to honour his ancestor who made the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War. To have its world premiere at Sydney Film Festival is extra special because Sydney is the location where Pte. William Allan Irwin DCM embarked for WWI, 109 years ago. I’m sure William’s family will be proud to see their ancestor’s legacy honoured in this way at Sydney Film Festival.”

Interview with a Hero was written by Valentin Domont, written and directed by Andy ‘Celeste’ Diep and produced by Catherine Van der Rijt with cinematographer Dev Kannaya Somu and edited once again by Jack Charter; all AFTRS Masters students.

“We’re honoured to premiere Interview with a Hero at the Sydney Film Festival. Set in Cabramatta in the ’90s, the film follows a Cambodian refugee facing the trauma of surviving the Khmer Rouge. We’re deeply grateful to AFTRS, our incredible cast and crew, and the Khmer Community of NSW for trusting us to share this powerful story. To debut it here in Sydney, where the story was born, is truly special,” says Andy and Catherine.

Ferryman was also produced as part of AFTRS Master of Arts Screen program by writer/director Daniel Duque, producer/cinematographer Will Besl and editor Jack Needle. The film will screen in the Sydney Film Festival’s Freak Me Out section.

Daniel says: “I’m incredibly honoured to have my film Ferryman selected for this year’s Sydney Film Festival! Not only will this be its world premiere, but it will also be my directorial debut, and it’s going to be extremely exciting, stepping out onto this big stage as both a composer and director for the first time. My partner in art, Will Besly, and I poured so much of our time and souls into this film, and we can’t wait for everyone to be able to see it on the big screen!”

Films selected for the Sydney Film Festival with AFTRS alumni in key creatives roles include:

• Went Up the Hill, from writer/director Samuel Van Grinsven (Master of Arts Screen, 2018).
• The Shirt Off Your Back, from writer/director David Robinson-Smith (Master of Arts Screen: Directing) with cinematographer Jaclyn Paterson.
• Birthright, from writer/director Zoe Pepper (Graduate Certificate in Directing Fundamentals, 2012).
• Emily: I am Kam – additional direction Dena Curtis (Graduate Diploma Film & Television – Television Editing, 2002), producer Anna Grieve (Bachelor of Arts Film & Television – Production Management, 1985), cinematographer Justine Kerrigan (Bachelor of Arts Film &Television – Cinematography, 1996).
• Joh, Last King of Queensland, by writer/director Kriv Stenders (Bachelor of Arts Film & Television – Camera, 1988), with editor Karryn De Cinque (Master of Arts Film & Television – Editing, 1998).
• Journey Home: David Gulpilil, from producer Rachel Clements (Master of Arts Film & Television – Producing, 2000), cinematographer Allan Collins (Specialist Extension Course Certificate Cinematography, 1996).
• Make It Look Real – cinematographer Justine Kerrigan (Bachelor of Arts Film & Television – Cinematography, 1996).
• Slanted – writer/director Amy Wang (Graduate Certificate in Directing Fundamentals Directing, 2012).

Sydney Film Festival’s Retrospective program this year features:

• Mullet – writer/director David Caesar (Bachelor of Arts Film & Television – Cinematography, 1986), editor Mark Perry (Bachelor of Arts Film & Television – Editing, 1986).

• Muriel’s Wedding – writer/director P.J. Hogan (Diploma Scriptwriting, 1983), producer Jocelyn Moorhouse (Diploma Directing, 1983).

• Somersault – writer/director Cate Shortland (Graduate Diploma of Arts Film & Television – Directing, 1999).

Source: TM Publicity

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topics AFTRS Andy 'Celeste' Diep Australian Film Television and Radio School Catherine Van der Rijt Daniel Duque Dylan Nicholls Sydney Film Festival Valentin Domont

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