Screen Studies
"Movies are magical, mysterious, provocative, intelligent, stupid, strange, beguiling, happy and sad, full of longing and hope...Any description of any film is inadequate - how do they work and why?
Screen Studies is about the unique language of film and the crucial first step in learning to make movies." Says Peter Galvin - Writer / Film Maker
Peter Galvin
Peter Galvin is a writer and filmmaker. His essays, criticism, reviews, articles and reporting has appeared regularly since 1985 and have been published in most of Australia's major newspapers and film magazines including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian, Inside Film, Cinema Papers, Filmnews and Filmink.
After graduating from UTS in 1994 with a BA in Communications he has pursued both writing and filmmaking, and had a brief stint as film reviewer/reporter at the Sydney Morning Herald.
In 2000 he wrote, produced and directed, with filmmaker/artist Tim Douglas, the 15min short ‘Purple Sneakers’. He has acted as script consultant/reader for Fox Studios and Beyond Films. Between 2004-2006 he was program director for the country's only year-round meet-the-filmmaker film festival Popcorn Taxi, a period which saw an increase in audience, scale and scope of this prestigious organization.
He is also a screenwriter who has had his scripts optioned by the country's leading producers. His decade long association with the teaching team at the Sydney Film School began at Sydney University's UBS.
From Feb, 2007-2009 he was a reporter for Encore Magazine. Currently he writes essays, criticism and features for SBS Film on line. In 2009 he wrote and directed the half-hour drama, Kelly's Blues currently in post-production and in July 2010 he began production on a new short film, Shanghai.
Right now he hopes to pursue a number of film projects in addition to finishing a book, the Crystal Palace, a social and cultural portrait of the Australian feature film revival of the 1970s. In May 2007 he made Head of Screen Studies at SFS.
Leslie Oliver
Leslie Oliver attained a BA in Art from Alexander Mackie College of Fine Art, University of New South Wales and a BA in Film & Television Directing (with recognition in Editing) from the Australian Film Television and Radio School.
In 1986 Leslie was a student, Academy Award nominee as writer/director of the graduation film Tennis Court Opera. The film was also commended at the St Kilda Film Festival and played at Melbourne International Film Festival.
Leslie was writer/director on You Can’t Push The River and Australian Film Commission funded feature. The film was a finalist at Mannheim/Heidelberg International Film Festival – Germany, and screened at numerous other international film festivals to critical acclaim.
Leslie worked in the industry as a director, editor and consultant and went on to established film making at St Aloysius College where his students won national film awards. As a sculptor, Leslie has attracted numerous corporate and private commissions, had 16 solo exhibitions, been included in over 40 group shows in Australia and abroad and lectures at the Australian Catholic University. He also lectured in writing and directing for Screen in the Faculty of Architecture, University of Sydney. Leslie was part of the team that established the UBS Film School (1994-2004) at the University of Sydney.
